


Sword Art Offline

by Slayer_Anderson



Category: Log Horizon, Sword Art Online
Genre: Awkward Sexual Situations, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Horny Teenagers, Under-Eighteen Characters Having Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-04-23 07:43:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4868807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slayer_Anderson/pseuds/Slayer_Anderson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Accidents happen.  They happen every day.  Some are small.  Others are...big.  When the launch of SAO doesn't turn out to be a death game, an accident will still change the lives of ten thousand people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. [1.0]

“Ow.”

“Oh, what the hell man. What just hit me?”

Kirito blinked at the sound of another voice. It was...familiar. Oh! That was right. He was...talking with someone. Klein! He was talking with the newb player about-

“We're still in the game,” Kirito noted slowly, sitting up as he looked around. The outskirts of the [Town of Beginnings] rose up just past the hill on his right, the sun still high in the sky.

“No shit?” Klein asked, obviously still a bit shaken up. “Was that a bug or something?”

“I don't know,” Kirito admitted hesitantly, standing cautiously as he looked over his body. To his left, a...herd? A mob of low-aggro boars were grazing close by at the foot of a hill. “Nothing like that ever happened in the beta.”

“...don't most MMOs have, like, a lot of glitches around start up?” Klein replied, frowning worriedly. “...and isn't this thing, like, plugged into our brains?”

Kirito felt a thrill of fear pass down his spine. “They do, occasionally,” he confirmed with a frown, “but...SAO isn't a normal game. There's hardware safeguards to keep the system from hurting players. Even then, about the worst that could happen would be your classic server crash.”

As Klein's eyes began to widen in panic, Kirito shook his head rapidly and held up his hands. “That would just boot us from the game and turn off the nervegear! There's no way this can hurt us. They did extensive testing way before even the alpha versions came out!”

Unbidden, though, Kirito's mind began to ponder the problem.

It had just been a short moment of...disembodiment? A second or two, if that, of feeling as though you were no where and everywhere at the same time. Then, he'd been back where he was, staring up at the false-sky of Aincrad's first floor.

Everything felt normal, though. It didn't seem as though anything had changed...

Could it have been a bug? A glitch? Maybe a microsecond's worth of lag in the connection? Or the spike of so many players logging on really was messing with the servers?

Given the fidelity of the signal and the amount of processing power they needed for this kind of imaging resolution and the robustness of the data involved....

...well, there was a reason Argus had only done a limited run of ten thousand copies for the initial release. Although, at least theoretically, the nervegear couldn't harm the brain...well, as Klein said, it plugged directly into your head...specifically next to the back of the neck, where a significant amount of your bodily functions were controlled.

No one really wanted to take the chance that a catastrophic server overload would cause some kind of error in the software and lock people into a coma-like state until Argus could get the game back online and log people out.

“Hey! Kirito!”

The black-haired boy's head shot up, “Huh?”

Klein frowned worriedly. “You were spacin' out there, dude. You okay?”

Kirito felt his cheeks heat slightly. “Oh, yeah, sorry. I just...well, I told you I was in the beta, right?” Klein nodded. “Well, I did a lot lot of background research. I was really excited about the release and everything, so...I was just thinking about what might have happened.”

Klein nodded again, slowly. “Well...think of anything?”

Kirito pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Not really. I mean, it probably was just a glitch...”

He forced himself to say it casually, as if it wasn't a big deal.

Klein grimaced. “Well...I gotta' go anyway. Might check my unit over and make sure there's nothing on the net about it...and I'm getting pretty hungry.”

Kirito nodded. “Right, yeah. You mind if I add you to my friend's list? That way you can call me if you need any more help.”

Klein hesitated a moment, then grinned. “Sure, yeah! Thanks, man. I was really lucky to meet a beta tester who's as good a guy as you.”

The black-haired boy ducked his head slightly, looking off to the side as he flushed in embarrassment. “No problem. I was glad to help.”

With a few quick swipes of their hands and information exchanged, Klein adjusted his motions to log out. His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Hey, Kirito,” the redheaded man began, “total newb question, but...how do I log out?”

Kirito frowned. “Oh, uh...that's easy, all you have to do is...huh.”

The log out button wasn't there.

“The log out button's not there,” Kirito stated dumbly, staring at his menu in consternation.

“Then...how do we get out of the game?” Klein asked in reply.

Kirito frowned. There...weren't actually that many options. “We...should contact a GM, I guess. Do you have anyone at home who will remove your nervegear if this takes too long?”

Klein shook his head, “No...I, uh, live alone. How 'bout you?”

Kirito sighed, “there's...my mom and my sister, but one's at work and the other just left for kendo practice. Shit.”

There was a moment of silence as they considered their options.

“I guess we can't just take the nervegear off, huh?” Klein asked hopefully.

“No,” Kirito replied definitely. “It's designed to intercept signals from your brainstem so you don't move around while you play.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah,” the black-haired youth frowned, thinking furiously. “Other than the GM...”

A sensation not unlike a vibration cut Kirito off as he reflexively opened his menu and looked towards Klein. “One minute. I've got a call request.” Tapping the acceptance screen, he held his palm up to his ear. “Hey Argo, what's up? I'm kinda' in the middle of something, here.”

“You and everyone else, Kiri-bou!” Argo's normally energetic voice replied over the pseudo-telepathic line, filled with an unsettling frazzle. “Your logout button not working? Where are you?”

Kirito stiffened.

If it wasn't just them...

“I was running a new guy through a tutorial on [Sword Arts]. We're out in the boar fields south of town,” Kirito replied, dread lacing his tone. “You're...having problems too?”

“Pretty much the whole flippin' town is!” Argo hissed back. “You heard anything about glitches or...I don't know, some kind of special event or something?”

It was clearly a desperate attempt to grasp at some level of normalcy, Kirito knew. No one in their right might would lock someone inside a game like this. With a game like SAO, disabling the logout feature was tantamount to kidnapping or hostage-taking. It would be a public relations nightmare and practically kill the launch of their flagship game. Unless Kayaba Akihiko had gone completely insane, this almost certainly wasn't anything planned.

“No.” Kirito replied shortly, sighing. “What's going on in town?”

“...nothing good. The safe zone inside the [Protection Wards] seem to be holding up, so no one's gotten really violent, but...they're scared, Kirito.” Argo replied, her voice dwindling to a near-whisper at the end. Kirito swallowed. It would have to be serious if she was using his full character name.

“...have you tried one of the GMs at the basilica?” Kirito replied, declining to press on her tone. Argo, he knew, wouldn't appreciate it.

“I tried.” Argo affirmed, frustration evident in her voice now. “Besides the fact that they're swamped, they're not really...responding right.”

Kirito blinked. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“Okaaay,” the black-haired swordsman drawled. “Are they...not answering questions or something?”

“More like they don't seem to understand them,” Argo replied curtly, then caught herself. “Sorry, Kiri-bou, it's just...well, it's like trying to talk to actual people, as weird as it sounds. I mean, actual priests. They don't seem to understand what 'GM' or 'logout' means, at least, not how it applies to games.”

Kirito was quiet for a long moment, rubbing at his forehead with his free hand as he tried to think. Finally, he settled on the only thing he could say, “do you need help?”

There was a stretch of silence on the other end, which probably said more than Argo would be willing to admit, even to him. Finally, a sigh came over the line. “If you think you can help, Ki-bou, sure. Fair warning, it's a bit of a mess here, so be prepared.”

“Alright. I'll try to get back soon,” Kirito replied, nearly drawing his hand away from his ear.

“Your call.” Argo's airy, devil-may-care attitude revived a bit. “Hey...Kiri-bou? Keep an eye on my icon, right?”

“Sure,” Kirito nodded, not even having to think about his response.

As his hand dropped, Klein stared at him with a worried expression. “That...didn't sound good.”

“It's not really,” Kirito sighed. “That was a...friend, another solo player I used to team up with on occasion. Her name's Argo and she's an info broker.” At Klein's clueless look, he elaborated. “She sells information about drop rates, where mini-bosses are, things like that. Odds are if it can be known, she'd know it...and she told me to watch her icon.”

Kirito put his hand on face, using the heel of his palm to massage his forehead tiredly.

“Uhh...what's that mean?” Klein asked, frowning.

“Okay, you know how the resurrection system works, right?” Kirito replied, thinking furiously. “Basically, when you get killed by a monster or another player, you drop a certain amount of your items, maybe some gold too if you have enough. That's all random, but depending on what level you are, it costs a different amount to rez you. Higher level, more gold, right?”

Klein nodded, recalling some of the standardized tutorial. “At the basilica, right? You pay the priest and he rezzes you, right?”

Kirito waggled his hand. “Sorta. If you're low enough level, it's almost automatic. I think the fluff is that the NPCs pay tithes to the church and the priests will rez players to keep the monsters at bay. Anyway, if you run low on gold and you're high enough level, you have to get a friend to rez you...or log in with another account and rez yourself. That's why Argo told me to watch her icon. An icon on your friends list will tell you whether the person is alive or is waiting for a rez.”

“Huh,” the redhead nodded, satisfied with the explanation, then stopped. “Hey, I thought you said your friend was in town. I thought the [Town of Beginnings] was a safe zone?”

Kirito pressed his lips together grimly. “It is.”

Klein might not have been the...brightest bulb in the bunch, but even he could read between the lines well enough. “Shit. I should...some of my friends are logged in, too. I should get back to town. It was this way, ri-”

“Watch out!” Kirito shouted, even as Klein stumbled into one of the boars, triggering it's attack reflex. The black-haired boy cursed and leaped forward while the boar butted Klein away. Sweeping in with a sword art, he made quick work of the animal. “Are you okay?”

Klein didn't answer, merely staying where he was as he gasped for breath. “Fuck, that hurts.”

“No it can't-” Kirito stopped himself, his eyes slowly widening.

“Shit,” he muttered, the bottom falling out of his stomach.

Something was really, really wrong.


	2. [1.1]

A day had passed.

A day of the most confusing, frustrating, unbelievable, and pointless meandering he could ever remember partaking in. It was confusing because apparently no one had any grasp of what had happened...or was continuing to happen. It was frustrating because there appeared to be no way to find out what was happening. It was unbelievable because everything Kirito knew about programming, about gaming, about how reality worked said it was literally impossible. Of course, it was also all so fucking pointless because no one had any idea what any of this mess meant.

It was...

Kirito gave a long, drawn out sigh as he stared at the ceiling.

“Sounds like someone had a bad day, Ki-bou,” a voice commented to his side, disproportionately cheerful in the face of complete disaster.

“What are we going to do, Argo?” Kirito asked bleakly.

“I was thinking more sex,” Argo replied with a grin in her voice and a friendly grope at the tips of her fingers.

“Argo!” Kirito complained, “this is serious! There's panic in the streets! No one's been able to logout at all!”

“Mou~” Argo shook her head, wrapping her arms around Kirito's torso again, pressing her bare chest against his arm. “I think panic is a little extreme, Kiri-bou. Everyone's kinda calming down now. People are scared, sure, but I don't see a way to fix that. Some problems are too big.”

“We should be doing something,” Kirito argued half-heartedly, dropping his head into his hands.

“You are,” Argo replied as she moved in for a kiss. “You're keeping me safe. Think of it like an escort mission. Just like old times.”

“Blackmailer,” Kirito laughed as he pulled away, the warmth of her body still pressing against him, her taste on his lips.

“Extortion, actually,” Argo corrected, her hands wandering again as she massaged him to hardness. “Well, at least someone's seeing reason.”

“Argo,” Kirito sighed again, a hint of fading desperation in his tone.

Shifting her weight onto his lap, the tan-skinned girl began to rub herself along his length. “Ah! Ki-bou...think of it this way. I've got people out looking for things. A few other beta testers, a few newbies. I clued them into some easy starter-quests and they've been making some bank. In exchange, they're gonna' let me in on anythin' they find out. When I know, you'll know, m'kay?”

Kirito growled lowly. Her logic was getting progressively harder to argue against.

“So, what can you do...that no one else can do?” Argo asked leadingly.

“That's what you keep me around for, then? Just the...services I can render!?” Kirito gasped as he penetrated her.

“You say that like it's a bad thing,” Argo breathed into his ear, her tongue sliding out to trace the outer lobe. “I'd think it's a pretty classy gig, being my housewife. If you ask very, very nicely, I'll even make you wear the dress~”

“Damnit Argo,” Kirito groaned, trying to fight the urge to just lay in bed all day.

Suddenly, Argo stiffened and bit a curse as she drew her hand up to her ear. “What is it? I'm busy, Retta.”

The black-haired boy smothered a grin as he decided to give in to the urge to let his hands wander.

Argo really did have a wonderful-

“Sorry, didn't catch that,” Argo chirped cheerfully, despite the heat on her face as Kirito bit his lip to keep from yelling in pain. Damn that girl pinched hard!

“Fine, be there as fast as I can,” Argo replied, hanging up with a sigh before pushing her black-haired lover down on the bed. “That wasn't very nice, Kiri-bou.”

“I thought you had to be somewhere?” Kirito smirked.

“We have to be somewhere soon, yeah,” Argo grinned, emphasizing the first word. “One of my informants said this guy wants to meet with me...and you. The client specifically assured my informant that I'd know where to find you.”

“Huh,” Kirito frowned. It wasn't that strange to hear someone wanted to meet with Argo. She bought and sold information for an in-game living, after all and could ferret out any fact or tidbit if you were willing to drop enough coin. She was called 'The Rat' for a reason, after all.

No, what was weird was the inclusion of himself in the meeting.

Moreover, the fact that someone would call Argo to request a meeting with him as a party. Although their...relationship wasn't exactly a 'secret' in the traditional sense, neither was it something they advertised. If anything, Kirito was simply one of Argo's clients that paid his debt off acting as a bodyguard on some of her more dangerous quests.

There might be...maybe three or four people who suspected something was going on between himself and Argo...maybe.

He didn't think any of them would be as...audacious as to call them out on it like this, either.

They were too scared of what Argo would do as revenge.

“We should get going,” Kirito stated, ready to lift Argo off his member and head to the bathroom. A quick rinse would at least get the smell of sex off them.

“We've got time for a quickie,” Argo refuted, grinning widely as she raised herself up once before dropping back down again.

Kirito groaned again, then flipped her in one smooth motion so he was lying on top of the girl. She gasped as the quick flip buried him to the hilt in her once again. “You're insatiable. They should have called you 'Argo the Nymph.'”

A barked laugh quickly faded to grunts and whispered names.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kirito surveyed the market space, one of many in the [Town of Beginnings] with the quiet speed of one who knew exactly what he was looking for.

He was grateful to see most of the fear and anger had burned itself out since the day prior, although the depressed apathy that replaced it wasn't much better.

Thankfully, the game had been designed to be somewhat generous with the starting purses of players, so everyone looked as though they'd been able to spend the night in an inn, at least. Still, he couldn't help but feel as though this was the calm before the storm. After all, people could only last so long before depression spun back around to anger, the kind of anger that wouldn't extinguish quickly, either.

...and the NPCs.

That was another thing. The NPCs were acting...strange. Well, no, not just strange. They were acting...skittish, as if...

He watched a grocer minding his stall, but instead of the cheery demeanor he'd glimpsed yesterday on his way out of town, there was a hesitation, a reluctance to engage or call out to any of the potential buyers on the street. Meeting Kirito's eyes for a moment, the man immediately looked away, towards the woman next to him, where they exchanged quiet words with worried faces...

Worry, that was it.

Kirito narrowed his eyes, frowning as he and Argo kept walking, letting the thought percolate.

The non-player characters for Sword Art Online were some of the best he'd ever seen. No, really, they were the best. Unequivocally. During the beta, he'd had favored shops in which the clerks had begun greeting him by name and remembering specific orders beyond simple commissions. This, though. This was different.

“They're not picking up on repeat customers,” Kirito mumbled. “Or even long-term study of the PCs routes. I don't think there's a simple subroutine that could...”

Kirito shook the thought off and growled.

“Thinkin' on somethin'?” Argo asked, raising an eyebrow at her companion's irritation.

“The NPCs reactions are off,” Kirito answered absently. “I'm wondering if it had to do with the event yesterday.”

“Hmm...well, I saw a bunch a' rowdies slamming on carts and yell'n at people yesterday. Maybe they're just spooked 'cause they don't know what's going on?” Argo asked pensively.

Kirito stopped dead.

It took Argo a moment to realize she'd kept walking alone. Turning around, seeing Kirito standing absolutely still staring at her but seeing nothing, her eyes widened. Hurrying to his side, Argo poked the boy, “Ki-”

Clearing her throat, she dropped the pretense. “Kirito, you're scaring me. What's wrong?”

“Argo,” Kirito swallowed, looking around him slowly and cautiously before taking a few steps off to the side. “You can't just...you don't realize what you just said, do you?”

The whiskered girl frowned. “Gonna' have to be more specific Kiri-bou. All I said was that the NPCs remembered-”

“-exactly!” Kirito nearly shouted, then frowned and looked about worriedly. Seeing the few glances their way taper off, Kirito sighed in relief. “Exactly. NPCs don't remember things, Argo. They just don't.”

Argo frowned, “but during the beta-”

“The shop owners, I know,” Kirito interrupted and, though Argo frowned at the cutoff, she still listened to his point as he continued. “But that's not memory, not on a personal level. That's pattern recognition. The system was remembering how many times you bought something, how often at what shops. It built a portfolio of your actions so that the NPCs would recognize you, greet you by name, get you your 'usual' order. It's an amazing system.”

Argo rolled her eyes. “If you say so, game otaku. How about when this shopkeeper asked me 'what's wrong miss?' A client just ripped me off and I was pissed and he noticed. How'd he do that unless he remembered what I looked like usually.”

Kirito moved to respond to the barb, but shook his head. This was more important.

“That's facial recognition,” Kirito responded. “That doesn't even need to be customized. Most people only have so many different facial expression. It's pretty easy for a computer to read them and gauge if you're happy or sad or...whatever. This isn't that, though.”

Argo frowned. “Seems pretty much like it. The systems just looking at our faces and we're all worried and depressed, so the NPCs are too.”

Kirito shook his head again. “No on two counts. First, the systems response to worry, depression, and anger is supposed to be concern. Players can vent at PCs without it being a big deal. They'll just get...platitudes in return. You can tell a shopkeeper a story about your dog dying and your mother dying and you'd get the same general condolences. I actually told one bartender a completely made-up about getting a huge fortune from rescuing a princess, but because I did it with this really sad tone in my voice and kept frowning, he thought it was a bad thing!”

Argo blinked, cocked her head slowly and then narrowed her eyes.

“Ki-bou, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but...you really need a hobby.”

Kirito groaned and palm his face. “Don't you see what this means?!”

“Not really,” Argo shrugged.

Kirito sighed and leaned against the wall, knocking his head back and letting it 'thunk' onto the stone. “It means...the NPCs are demonstrating specific and general memory. More than that, they're understanding stimuli even when a PC isn't interacting with them directly. That's...big, Argo. Huge.”

“How huge?” Argo asked, serious for once.

Kirito was quiet for a moment, thinking. “It's...” He closed his eyes, trying to remember. “In the [Town of Beginnings], there are over five hundred thousand NPCs. I can't be certain because of sample size, but...all of the NPCs are unique, at least appearance-wise. If they're all responding like this...”

Argo was quiet as he rubbed at his forehead worriedly.

“I'd need to give them Turing tests to be sure.” Kirito said eventually.

“Eh...I think I've heard that before. Hmm...” Argo pondered, frowning thoughtfully.

“It's generally accepted to be the definitive test regarding artificial intelligence,” Kirito explained, feeling slightly numb. “I mean...when I look at them, my gut says they're acting too complicated for programming to explain, even the next-gen stuff Argus is using. Plus, the computing requirements would be obscene.”

Argo cocked her head. So often, Kirito was merely 'a good player' in her eyes. It was easy to forget that they had lives outside this game with a reality so immersible as SAO. Even though she'd done her diligence on the game itself, it was from a player's perspective. She understood drop-rates, spawn rates, level-dependent benefits, and more, but...

Kirito understood the game from a programmer's perspective. The mind-boggling complexity of each floor, built from the ground up as nothing more than ones and zeroes...or whatever programming language Kayaba had used. It wasn't an area where her skills lay, though, and she would trust Kirito.

“So what's the verdict?” Argo asked.

Kirito breathed in deeply and exhaled an answer that Argo could hardly believe, but rang true nonetheless.

“I don't think we're in a game anymore.”

Argo swallowed, her tongue flicking out to whet her lips. “Ooookay, Ki-bou, then...where are we?”

Kirito scowled, sweeping a hand over his face. “I have no idea, Argo.”

Argo shook her head. “Kiri-bou...are you sure? I mean...really, really sure? Can't this be...just a glitch or something?”

Kirito shook his head immediately. “No. I don't think so, at least. There are dozens of safeties about the pain settings alone.” Seeing her incomprehension, Kirito elaborated. “I had to look up a lot of neurology texts online to understand it, but there are a lot of different 'kinds' of pain. Sharp, dull, sudden, chronic...and then you get into which nerves each of those use and how they report back to the brain. I'm not even going to talk about how feeling temperature work or seeing color. This game is really, really complicated. If just one of them was off...but, before Klein and I headed back into town, I fought a couple of boars. Argo...I felt tired yesterday. Really, physically tired.”

“Well, of course you did Kiri-bou, you-” Argo replied, her features twisted in confusion.

“Why should I?” Kirito interrupted, looking at her fully in the eyes. Argo opened her mouth to respond, but Kirito shook his head, waving her off. “This isn't my body, after all. I'm not breathing air, or using muscles. This game is supposed to be all in your head. Mental fatigue is a thing. Physical fatigue isn't. Can't be. That kind of intimate discomfort is almost impossible to simulate.”

“Now that you mention it,” Argo frowned, “I was kind of sore after the third round last night. Back in the beta, we could go for as long as we wanted, easy. What a gip!”

Kirito blushed to his roots, looking around to make sure no one had heard the exclamation and deciding to use it as evidence instead of arguing. “Right! I mean, I could see someone making a virus or something to mess with the SAO release. Maybe Anonymous or a bunch of idiots who think they're cyber-terrorists, but...”

He sighed, and Argo honed in on his words, noting how tired and resigned they were.

“Each level of complexity you add increases the resources you need for the game to function. Argus uses a set of solid-state servers and optical computing that's really amazing, but...we're talking about a geometric or exponential draw on computational power here.” Kirito rubbed at his forehead. “With this many people logged in, running these kinds of theoretical settings...even if I believed that the nervegear was able to function at them...”

“So if we're not in Aincrad,” Argo asked again, “if this can't be a game because Kiri-bou says it'd have to run on magic and fairy dust, then where are we?”

Kirito made an aggravated noise in the back of his throat as he ran both hands through his hair, nearly tearing at the messy mop of black on top of his head. There was something forming in his mind, an idea so crazy it made speaking it impossible.

Kirito shook head head. “I...need to think, Argo. Let's just meet up with this guy. What's his name again?”

“Heathcliff,” Argo replied, thinking back. “...and he's got this guild with him. Retta, the guy who called me, said they were called the [Sleeping Knights].”

“The Sleeping Knights?” Kirito frowned, his brows furrowing. “That...sounds familiar.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Comments and criticism welcome.

My apologies [USER=554]Mu-Sensei[/USER] - I have tread upon your domain, mea culpa.


	3. [1.2]

It was an inn Kirito knew of in passing, only. One of the higher-end establishments that he'd never bothered with during the beta, too busy as he was hunting down rumors and exploring the levels they'd accessed. Still, even he could admit that it was a richly appointed structure, full of dark wood, rich leather and wreathed in the smells of pungent incense and good food. The entire bottom floor of the inn was a dining area, the front exhibiting a more modern restaurant-like atmosphere, while the rear was sectioned into private rooms behind closed doors and away from prying eyes.

It was also more expensive.

While Argo positively leered at the wealth on display by the various NPC patrons, Kirito frowned. More and more, things just weren't adding up with this request. This early in the game, no one should be able to spare the funds for a meal in a place like this.

Perhaps a guild pooled their resources?

...but, why? Why bother with such an expensive inn when there were more than enough cheaper places just down the street?

“You're makin' my head hurt, you're thinkin' so hard, Ki-bou,” Argo teased. “...and you are so bringing me back here once I get my pickpocket skill unlocked.”

Kirito rolled his eyes, knowing full well that at least half of Argo's lustful gazes at the well-to-do patrons was checking for an ambush. Money-grubbing and penny-pinching the girl might be, but her hoarding tendencies wasn't the only reason people called her 'The Rat.' Even before they'd met, she'd had a reputation for wriggling out of difficult situations and being damnably hard to corner.

“Sorry, just thinking about-”

Their waiter opened the door to the private booth.

“-the guy who-”

Distantly, Kirito registered Argo's squeek of surprise.

“What the fuck-”

He was really more concerned with the sword coming at his face.

“-dammit Yuuki!”

A rain of sparks cascaded over the floor as the two combatants froze, meeting each others' gazes. Wide dark eyes met glimmering red orbs as two short swords remained crossed against each other.

“Oh sweet merciful Buddha,” Argo muttered quietly, though it echoed loudly in the sudden silence. “Not again.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
“So that's where I remember the guild [Sleeping Knights] from,” Kirito groaned.

“I did tell you we were thinking about forming it back when the beta was ending,” Yuuki grinned. “For shame, Kirito-kun! I would have thought you'd remember the words of your greatest rival more carefully.”

Argo dropped her head to the table as the dark-haired boy actually blushed in embarrassment. “Battle maniacs, the both of you. Battle maniacs.”

“Feel my pain,” the more sedate of the two twins sighed, with a deadpanned tone, sipping from a cup of ice water. “Suffer as I have suffered.”

“Raaaa~aaaan,” Yuuki whined.

“What I want to know,” Kirito interrupted the two siblings' bickering, “is how you managed to attack me. We're in the [Town of Beginnings]. This should be a safe zone.”

“Ah,” a silver-haired man coughed. “I can answer that.”

“Healthcliff, right?” Kirito asked, cocking his head as he looked the man over.

“Just so,” the older man smiled. “It's quite an interesting explanation. You see, although most of the restaurant is indeed part of the town's safe zone, these private rooms are actually PvP areas. There are actually a number of them hidden around the city in plain sight, but only accessible if you jump through a few hoops.”

“That's...dangerous,” Kirito frowned, mulling over the idea.

“It is meant to discourage guild leaders and wealthy merchant players from hiding in the safe zones and not venturing out. Most, like this area, require your to reserve a room or complete a minor quest that needs a certain amount of resources to complete. That bars the lower-level players from taking advantage of system,” Heathcliff explained.

“But not the more experienced players from taking advantage of it to PvP or extort newbs,” Kirito pointed out.

“True enough,” Heathcliff nodded, conceding the point. “Although I'll point out that only the [Town of Beginnings] and a few other major settlements have features like these. You won't run into them in the lesser towns and villages of each floor. I thought it lent an air of corruption and cloak and dagger backroom dealing to the larger cities.”

Kirito visibly mulled the point over before nodding slowly. “I can see it. I'm not sure I would have gone with something like it myself, but...then, I'm not the game designer, am I Kayaba-san?”

Argo's eyes shot wide as the [Sleeping Knights] stiffed and grabbed for their weapons anxiously.

“Now, now,” Heathcliff grinned, waving the guild members off. “I don't think there's any call for violence. Although I wasn't trying particularly hard to conceal it, I have to say I'm surprised you puzzled it out so quickly, Kirito-kun.”

Kirito shrugged. “It wasn't that difficult. I mean, there aren't many people who would know either Argo or I, let alone both of us or the fact that we know each other, and then there's the [Sleeping Knights]...”

Healthcliff's eyebrows rose as the black-haired boy and the assembled guild members shifted uncomfortably.

“You told him?” Nori asked, her tone shocked as she turned to Yuuki.

“No, she didn't,” Kirito interjected even as others opened their mouths to accuse their teammate or defend her. “I made an educated guess after seeing an article about...well, you know...”

“Kiri-bou, care to share with the rest of the class?” Argo asked, her eyes flicking from Kirito's uncomfortable expression to the furtive glances the guild was shooting to each other. Yuuki, in particular, looked abashed, if not ashamed.

“It's not...my story to tell,” Kirito decided, running a hand through his hair and sighing.

“Kirito, I-” Yuuki began, but was interrupted by a purposefully nonchalant wave from the black-haired boy.

“-it's not a big deal,” he shrugged. “It's also not any of my business. I just put two and two together after seeing that article and seeing that you guys didn't seem to 'take breaks,' if you know what I mean? The leader-board recorded the times you completed some of those special events, after all.”

A few of the [Sleeping Knights] who had maintained suspicious looks, if not quite glares, eased up at the confession, Siune in particular.

Ran, the guild leader, though, maintained a somewhat intense gaze at the dark-haired boy, occasionally flicking her sister a sideways glance and eyeing Argo as well.

Finally, the girl sighed and seemed to resign herself to something, even as Yuuki gave Kirito a bashful smile.

“Now that we've got that out of the way,” Heathcliff stated with a somewhat fatherly smile. “I wonder if we could get back to the purpose of this meeting?”

“The fact that we're not in SAO anymore?” Kirito asked with a raised eyebrow before taking a sip of his water. “Or the fact, wherever we are, it doesn't seem to be part of any game at all? Even though it looks like we're still playing by SAO's rules?”

While the [Sleeping Knight's] jaws dropped, Heathcliff merely blinked once in surprise, then leaned back and frowned.

“The NPCs?” Heathcliff asked finally.

“Pretty much,” Kirito nodded. “There are other things, but that's the big one. Physical pain when there shouldn't be. Fatigue. I've also seen a lot of people stumbling around, tripping over nothing. I think it's because they set their characters to different heights, weights, and...er,” here Kirito blushed slightly, “body-types. Without SAO's system-assist to 'fix' the signals coming back from a virtual body...or a real body, for that matter, it's really awkward adjusting.”

Heathcliff listened intently, nodding at intervals, then seemed to come to a decision.

“Kirito-kun...if and when we figure this mess out, would you like to intern at Argus? Provided it's still there, of course. If it's not there when we get back, I'll hire you on whatever company I start up next.” Heathcliff offered with a smile.

Kirito colored, “Oh, uh-I mean, I'd be honored sir! Gaming has always really interested me and I'd love to work for such a visionary-”

“Hold up!” Argo shouted, breathing hard. “Can we actually get out of this-whatever it is, before we get into that!?”

Heathcliff blinked in surprise a few times, turning to the young, tan, green-haired woman with a hint of a blush on his own face. “Ah, of course! So sorry, it's just exciting to see such talent in the field at such a young age!” His awkward chuckle forced Argo's glare to meltdown into a simple sulk.

“Sensei,” Talken, a green haired swordsman obviously built for agility interjected, adjusting his glasses, “is this why you wished to meet Kirito-san? Is he truly so good at game design that he might help solve this problem?”

“Ah, regrettably, no,” Heathcliff sighed, giving Kirito an apologetic nod. “In fact, this was merely a pleasant surprise. I'd initially intended Kirito merely to be a character witness for the [Sleeping Knights], Yuuki-chan specifically.”

Argo nodded slowly, even as most of the people frowned in confusion. “The [Sleeping Knights] obviously know who you are and trust you, Heathcliff, so you wanted Kirito to tell me that they were trustworthy. That means you want something from me, because you know I know Kirito well enough to trust his opinion.”

“An accurate enough summation,” Heathcliff nodded, smiling. “I've met the [Sleeping Knights] IRL...or near enough for it not to matter, so they can confirm my identity as Kayaba Akihiko. Kirito, in turn, can confirm that Yuuki, at least, is not the type of person who would maliciously deceive you, and as you said, you trust young Kirito-kun.”

Argo cocked her head, scowling. “Kinda' weasel-ly of you, ya'know?”

“My apologies,” Heathcliff bowed his head slightly. “If there was more time, I'd have preferred to approach you in a different way, Argo-san. My need for a capable info-broker forced my hand, sadly.”

Argo rolled her eyes, still miffed at the previous topic of conversation, which she'd understood little of. “Alright, well...I'm listenin', whatcha' want?”

“I'd like you to start a rumor for me and assist it's spread to be as viral as possible,” Heathcliff explained.

Argo pursed her lips, wrinkling the whiskers drawn on her face as she pondered the request with veiled interest. “Okay...say I'm game. What's the rumor?”

“The rumor's exact wording may be up to you,” Heathcliff granted, “but it should imply that there is a method to shut the game down permanently and release everyone trapped here back into the real world. That method, perhaps some kind of GM control panel? It is located on the hundred-floor of Aincrad and is only accessible by clearing each and every floor until you can reach it.”

Argo blinked, cocking her head oddly as she thought it over.

Kirito, meanwhile, leaned back and frowned thoughtfully.

“So...even though we know that there's something seriously up,” Argo drawled slowly. “You want me to lie to nearly ten-thousand people and say we can get back to the real world?”

“Essentially,” Heathcliff nodded unflinchingly, though the [Sleeping Knights] shifted uneasily at the blunt summation of the man's request.

“So...before I charge you wa~aay more than I've ever charged anyone before...for anything, wanna' tell me why?” Argo asked curiously.

“Emergent behavior,” Kirito replied before Heathcliff could.

The silver-haired man smiled widely and gestured for the black-haired youth to take the floor.

“Basically,” Kirito began, “Games...especially more complicated games like MMOs, create an environment for people to play in and that environment alters the behavior of the people who play in it. Really, the theory is more inclusive than that and extends to basically any actors in any type of natural or artificial environment, but...”

He realized the entire table was staring at him and trailed off.

“How old are you, son?” Tecchi asked, resting his chin on his fist, the large muscles in his arms making the movements more intimidating than they probably should have been.

“Ah...that's a little...” Jun frowned, the young brown-haired boy looking disagreeable. “I mean, should we really be prying into Kirito-san's real life?”

“It's...fine,” Kirito shrugged awkwardly. “I'm fifteen.”

There was a moment of silence as the table took the confession in.

“Sorry, it's just...I would have thought you'd be in your last years of high school...or maybe a young college student,” Tecchi admitted, chuckling with embarrassment.

Ran sighed as tension released from the room, no one noticing the way she appeared fondly exasperated at the considering gaze Yuuki was looking at Kirito with...or the slight flush on Yuuki's cheeks.

“Anyway,” Kirito coughed, working past his own flush, “it's basically a theory that explains and, to some extent, predicts how people will act under certain conditions. I think Heathcliff-san has noticed that, even though no one's panicking, a number of people are very depressed and apathetic now that they don't really have anything or anyone to be angry at.”

“You want to give them a goal,” Argo realized.

“Partially,” Heathcliff nodded. “I'd also like to direct people's attention away from considering PvP tactics.”

“Oh shit,” Siune whispered, then blushed under the combined attention of the entire table. “Ah, sorry, I just...”

“We don't even know if people die when they're killed,” Ran finished the thought.

Heathcliff suddenly snorted, looking as though he'd strangled a laugh. The group looked at him oddly as he grinned, embarrassed. “Sorry, just an...old joke from an anime I watched as a kid.”

Nori rolled her eyes.

“Sufficed to say, once I realized what kind of situation we were facing, I volunteered to be killed and resurrected to determine if the process worked as it did in the game,” Heathcliff explained, ignoring the gasps at his confession. “As I am sitting here before you, it obviously has.”

Kirito let out a deep breath. “That's...yeah I was going to try that in a few days if we didn't get any word-ow!”

“You most certainly were not, Ki-bou!” Argo practically growled, smacking him again for good measure.

“Ugh,” Kirito grunted, shaking his head. “That's good, though, right? At least none of us can actually die as long as we have money to get rezzed or our the tithes the NPCs pay hold up, right?”

“Not quite,” Heathcliff replied. “It appears as though only other players or the tithe system can resurrect a player. Although I had more than enough gold on my person, I never received a prompt to pay for my own rebirth at the basilica.”

“Damn,” Kirito cursed, as the others contemplated that ultimatum.

“Furthermore,” Heathcliff explained, “something none of you have probably considered yet is the fact that virtually immortal players who have very few needs to be met will quickly grow bored with merely sitting around doing nothing. There will quickly come a time in which PvP tactics will likely be a source of amusement in lieu of anything more substantial.”

The players looked puzzled for a few long moments before the dystopian dawned.

“Alright, alright!” Argo cried, looking frustrated and running her hands through her wavy green hair. “I'll do it! Geeze, ya' really know how ta' dump it on a girl, Heathcliff-san.”

The silver-haired man sighed in relief. “You have my thanks, Argo-san.”

“On one condition!” Argo cried, thrusting a finger at the older man, who blinked.

“Argo!” Kirito groaned, slightly appalled at her antics.

“Relax Ki-bou, I don't want money,” Argo waved her lover off, grinning at Heathcliff. “I just wanna' know how come Heathcliff-san knew to come to me. I mean, I'm awesome, but how'd a CEO-guy like him know anything about me?”

“Oh, I see,” Heathcliff nodded slowly. “Well, truth be told, it is a somewhat amusing story. You see, you and Kirito-kun actually caused quite a headache for Argus' legal department during the first month of the beta.”

“Oh?” Argo grinned, amused by the idea of being troublesome in a way she'd never even known about.

“Yes, you see, it was a bit of an oversight on our part to allow young teens to participate in the beta without providing some safeguard against their consumption of alcoholic beverages.” Heathcliff grinned slightly.

Kirito and Argo stilled abruptly, their eyes widening.

“...then there was the matter of whether or not we were liable for enabling 'obscenity' under the Japanese penal code,” Heathcliff admitted. “I suppose for all my genius, I never anticipated some of the consequences of a supervision-free environment like SAO. After all, there aren't any real 'law codes' here in the game. You made us consider all sorts of problems, such as in-game prostitution, how applicable is the age of consent, and given that a grown adult can create a very...youthfully appearing avatar, what constitutes child exploitation or pornography?”

Argo and Kirito refused to meet anyone's gazes as their faces turned beat red.

“We ended up having to add more than five pages to the terms of service agreement after all was said and done,” Heathcliff explained. “Given that, and the fact that you two were the first to take advantage of the sexual-dynamics modeling engine, well, of course I'd make a note to follow the careers of such interesting players.”

Argo seemed to fold in on herself in embarrassment, pulling her hood up and over her head even as Kirito seemed content to drop his head to rest on the table.

Ran sighed again as she caught sight of the disappointment...and...interest...

The older twin frowned at the look in her sister's gaze.

“Oh, the food's here!” Talken cheered as the door to the private booth slid open to reveal a server. The awkward mood was helped by the sudden appearance of food and the universal unspoken decision to put things off until after the meal. The whole of the group looked at the delicious spread before them and eagerly dug in...

...for one bite.

Heathcliff scowled at the his spoon while he swallowed the bland mush that was supposed to be a helping of potato soup. “Well, that's not right.”

“No way!” Yuuki scowled, coughing at the complete lack of taste. “C'mon! I just had an apple yesterday and it tasted fine!”

“Another day, another problem, it seems,” Heathcliff sighed, reaching for a glass of water to wash out his mouth.  



	4. [1.3]

Heathcliff sighed as he bit into the apple.

“This kind of glitch really is unconscionable,” the silver-haired man frowned as he swallowed.

“I'm pretty sure it's outside of your control,” Kirito consoled as he sliced into an orange with a pocket knife. It was one of the smallest weapons in the game, with only the [concealable] status giving any player a reason to carry it.

“I suppose,” Heathcliff conceded as he looked out over the [Town of Beginnings]. “The lack of a logout button aside, though, the fact that anything other than ingredients taste like bland mash is the most appalling failure of my programming abilities I've seen yet.”

Kirito snorted, unable to help himself as he looked around their surroundings, making sure no one was observing them for the umpteenth time. The little outdoor cafe they'd retired to after the absolute failure of a lunch was positioned atop a medium-height building and away from prying eyes or ears. It wasn't somewhere he'd ever seen in the game before, but it was a quiet, relaxing space with a great view. The raw fruits and vegetables purchased from a street vendor went well with the casual atmosphere their group had adopted in light of the change of venue.

“I'm not sure if I believe that this world was actually programmed, sir,” Kirito stated hesitantly, not wanting to offend the man, sparing a glance to where Argo was sitting with Yuuki's guild, laughing at some joke that had just been told.

“Would you believe that I programmed this little cafe as part of my own virtual environment on my private server?” Heathcliff asked idly. “I gave it the most idyllic weather settings so that I could work from the office while still enjoying the outdoors. I ended up porting it into the beta without telling anyone. My own private little Easter egg.”

Kirito frowned. That was...

“So you'll forgive me if I indulge in a bit of god complex in my least humble moments,” Heathcliff smiled, then sobered. “I honestly have to wonder at all this. There are so, so many similarities...no, identical qualities that this place has to the world I created. What fearful symmetry there exists in the world. In the worlds, evidently.”

“That's...frightening, honestly,” Kirito exhaled, popping another slice of orange into his mouth. “How does something like this happen?”

“Hmm,” Heathcliff hummed thoughtfully around his bite of apple before swallowing. “I find myself at a loss, honestly. For all the similarities I can remark upon, I see just as many differences. Things that are just barely out of place.”  
It was quiet for a time as each thought over the problem.

“Could it be...magic?” Kirito asked into the silence that rang between them.

“Magic,” Heathcliff frowned around the word, saying it distastefully, as if something he would need to wipe off his shoe. “I suppose...when one logically removes all possibilities, the impossible becomes merely unlikely. Although, if it is true...”

“Does it have to do with your real reason for getting to the top of the tower?” Kirito asked quietly.

“How?” Heathcliff asked, honest shock crossing his face for the first time.

Kirito shrugged, making an effort not to appear nervous or anxious. This man was the closest he'd ever come to having an idol, after all. “It was...mostly a guess, kind of a gut feeling, but...if you'd wanted to give everyone a goal...it could have been a lot of different things. Forming guilds, completing special events...even only getting to the twenty-fifth floor, or the fiftieth. You...though, well, you said the hundredth floor,” Kirito reasoned with a light frown. “It was just a feeling, like I said, but...something like a GM console...I'd have them on every floor, at least. Redundancy and everything, just to make sure that if something failed and someone really was stuck in the game...”

Heathcliff was quiet as he considered the boy's words.

“It...something about how quickly you were able to come up with this plan...it's only been a day, after all,” Kirito pointed out uneasily. “Something seemed off.”

“There's always removing the nervegear itself, if you truly believed we were still in the game,” Heathcliff interjected, “or if there was anything I could really do to change this situation, even if my actions were suspicious.”

“True,” Kirito nodded, “but...that means you'd need to let someone outside the game know you couldn't log out. You'd still need a terminal or a console, or something, if your own GM privileges weren't working.”

Heathcliff sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I really should stop underestimating you, Kirito-kun.”

“Just Kirito is fine,” the black-haired swordsman shrugged.

“Then you have to call me Heathcliff,” the older man grinned, clapping the younger on the shoulder.

“Ah, heh,” Kirito grinned. “Sure.”

“Good, good,” Heathcliff breathed out, looking at his apple deeply before taking another bite. “Kirito...I must ask you to keep this in confidence, please.”

“I...can't promise that. Not if it's dangerous,” Kirito answered pragmatically.

“It's...only dangerous if it causes mass panic,” Heathcliff explained, grimacing as he did so. “There's nothing anyone can actually do about it and knowing would just scare people unnecessarily.”

Kirito breathed a huge sigh, beginning to dread what he was about to hear. “I...yeah. I'll at least check with you before I tell anyone.”

Heathcliff looked as though he was about to argue, but nodded. “I suppose we have just met. That's the best I can hope for.” He frowned, quiet for a moment as he considered his words. “You...may have noticed other floating islands in the distance, even during the beta, correct?”

Interest and curiosity lanced through Kirito's features, a thrill of boyish excitement leaping up his spine. “Yeah, I did. I just thought they were supposed to be part of the scenery, though.”

Heathcliff smiled enigmatically. “Not quite. Consider it a sneak peak for the planned expansions to SAO. These one hundred floors will only keep people entertained for so long, after all.”

“I had wondered what you were planning to do after the players got to the top,” Kirito admitted. “I mean-”

“Whoever heard of being able to 'beat' an MMO?” Heathcliff asked with humor. “It's a criticism I've had leveled at me more than once in the past few months. Right now, SAO is limited to Aincrad itself. The next expansion was going to be a series of floating islands released after the top floor was cleared. Each island would have it's own unique dungeons, bosses, quests, etc...”

Kirito swallowed, his mind occupying itself briefly imagining the world Kayaba was hinting at.

“It sounds amazing,” Kirito admitted quietly, “it is amazing, really. What does this have to do with...”

“The hundredth floor?” Heathcliff asked, steepling his hands and resting his chin on them. “You were correct in your guess about the consoles. There's at least one GM console on every floor. The half-dozen staff who were logged in with me, and myself, have already investigated it. Regrettably, it has been rendered into a read-only format...or the 'mystical' equivalent, if it truthfully is running on magic now.”

Heathcliff shook the distaste from his face.

“We configured them to appear as alters in the back rooms of the basilicas,” Heathcliff admitted. “They were for emergency use only, in case a GM's permissions failed or glitched and they needed a method to log themselves out. No one ever really expected to need it, but the redundancy was comforting, as was the lack of a need to communicate with the outside world. We tested the feature, too, just to make sure they all worked.”

“...but now they don't,” Kirito surmised, stating the obvious.

“Now they don't,” Heathcliff confirmed. “They still allow us to monitor the...well, I'd call it the 'system,' but...”

Kirito frowned as Heathcliff struggled with himself.

“It...it just doesn't make sense. The formatting is all wrong, it doesn't respond to any commands, even though it should,” frustration filled Heathcliff's voice as he scowled and angrily bit off the last of the apple in his hand. “Sorry, but it's as if my own child is rebelling against me.”

Kirito stayed quiet, unsure of how to respond.

“At any rate...the important part is that the [Compass System], the pseudo-AI I put together to monitor and adjust the world...it's still running,” Heathcliff confessed.

Kirito's eyebrows shot upwards.

Neither spoke for a long moment.

“What...does that mean?” The younger swordsman eventually asked.

“To be honest, I'm not completely sure,” Heathcliff admitted. “I was able to divine enough information from...whatever is running this world that resurrection would still be possible through the basilica.”

“So allowing yourself to be killed...” Kirito began.

Heathcliff grinned. “It was not a complete leap of faith, no. However, I was confident in my own estimation of this world and my abilities that I was willing to risk it.”

“So what does all this have to do with the hundred floor?” Kirito asked pointedly.

“Well, now that I've explained the fact that Compass is still active and the expansions I'd planned aren't installed, it shouldn't be any great feat for you to deduce exactly what my concern is,” Heathcliff stated leadingly.

Kirito frowned thoughtfully. “I...” His eyes widened. “Without any GMs...compass is running Aincrad, isn't it?”

“Correct,” Heathcliff nodded, but said no more.

Kirito closed his eyes, thinking furiously. “There's...there's some way to control it on the hundred floor, isn't there?”

Heathcliff nodded again, sighing as he did so. “An absolute failsafe, hardcoded into the very bedrock of the system. Compass is...powerful in this world, godlike even. Truthfully, I haven't any idea what exactly Compass will do now that there isn't any human overwatch monitoring its decisions. I had planned to have someone manning it during the release, as I had during the beta, but...he called in sick. His wife was giving birth. I thought the safeguards in place were enough, so I contented myself with them. Clearly, I was wrong.”

“What precisely is the system programmed to do?” Kirito asked, rubbing at his forehead worriedly.

“To make the game interesting,” Heathcliff answered, as if it were obvious. “To make it 'fun' and enjoyable for the players. Challenging, but not impossible. I'm working on the assumption that those core protocols are still active, of course. However...if people are not interesting in playing the game...”

Kirito stilled.

Heathcliff continued, “if they aren't leveling, raiding dungeons, challenging the bosses. If they aren't playing the game...I have no idea what Compass will do. At best, it would provide incentives for doing so. At worst...”

“It could crash,” Kirito finished with dread.

“Something along those lines,” Heathcliff affirmed. “If it judged the players as unable or unwilling to partake in the game, it's existence would be a failure. There's a very real possibility that it could choose to self-terminate or eliminate the 'virtual' environment of Aincrad to attempt to start over.”

“...and because this isn't a game any more, everyone would die,” Kirito stated hollowly.

“Mind you,” Heathcliff cautioned. “At this point, all of this is supposition. Guesswork, if educated. However, Compass doesn't have any addition expansions installed to shunt players onto. We're limited to Aincrad only. I believe it is imperative that we reach the hundredth floor as quickly as possible. There, I should be able to take control of Compass before it does anything...rash.”

“This just keeps getting better and better,” Kirito mumbled, half-heartedly eating the last of his orange.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
“So, so then,” Argo gasped, “he said, 'I'm sorry?'”

Ran groaned, shaking her head, even as Nori gave a deep belly laugh, nearly collapsing to the ground. Yuuki was laughing as well, hiding her giggles behind a hand. Shiune, sitting primly off to the side, sipped a glass of water to conceal her smile.

“Oh god, poor Kirito,” Ran sighed. “He seems so self-assured, too.”

“Ki-bou's gotten better,” Argo shrugged. “When we started going out, he'd try to sneak off on his own to do his 'grr...I'm a black-swordsman loner solo-player' thing.”

Ran snorted while Nori rolled her eyes.

“Hey! Kirito's awesome!” Yuuki pushed herself to defend the boy. “He's the only person besides nee-san and sensei who can beat me!”

Argo grinned, cat...er, rat-like, “oh, so~o cute! It almost make me forget that time you two went ten hours fighting mobs on level twelve!” Argo turned to Ran, “Your imouto seems so nice when she's not upset she can't cackle from atop a pile of bodies, since they keep disappearing.”

“That was a bit excessive,” Ran chastised her younger sister mildly, who flushed and ducked her head. “Honestly, what was the point of all that?”

Yuuki flushed deeper and mumbled something unintelligible.

“Merida and Clovis told me that they were comparing kill counts,” Nori confided with a grin.

“You two,” Ran sighed, a smile tugging at her lips despite the exasperation her tone held.

“Kiri-bou does have a competitive streak,” Argo nodded in commiseration. “Usually, he's pretty laid back, but once you get him going...”

“Oh?” Shiune grinned slightly, “how naughty.”

Argo flushed and looked away, her lips twisting into a pleased smile despite herself.

“Where are our other two lovebirds, anyway?” Nori asked suddenly, “this would be a perfect time to get some teasing in!”

“You know Clovis and Merida aren't the type to enjoy heavy conversations,” Ran shook her head. “They said they were going to take a walk around the town and see if anything was going on.”

Shiune smiled, “I suppose it's a good enough excuse for a date. They should enjoy this opportunity.”

A sudden grimness fell over the assembled women, Argo noticed, watching how they seemed to be fighting off happy smiles as well as tears at the same time. Scowling slightly, she coughed pointedly. “You know, I don't mind if it's something personal, but it's kind of rude if an outsider is here.”

Nori and Shiune grimaced while Yuuki looked abashed.

Ran merely frowned slightly. “Sorry, Argo, it's just...we aren't entirely sure how to take this...turn of events.”

Argo cocked her head. “Seems...pretty much like everyone else, if ya' don't mind me sayin'.”

There was a moment of silence as the other girls traded glances, their eyes eventually landing on Ran. The older of the purple-haired twins scowled and turned towards where Tecchi, Jun, and Talken were sitting away from the group of women. The large man caught her gaze inquisitively and Ran nodded towards Argo. There were a few hushed words exchanged among the boys before Tecchi seemed to give a final shrug.

If Argo was reading things right, it was an expression that said, 'it's your call.'

Ran sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “...why did I ever volunteer to be guild-leader? Argo...I'd need your assurances that you wouldn't sell this information. It's something...personal, having to do with our real-world lives.”

Argo waved her off, “Ah, say no more. I don't sell IRL data, bad business. Lotsa' people come with grudges and wanna' find people to settle up. Best just to flip douches like that off than to give 'em the time of day.”

The girls simultaneously let out a breath of relief.

Ran stared at 'Argo the Rat' a moment longer, then nodded. “Okay, it's like this...the Sleeping Knights were formed when we all met in a virtual space Kayaba-sensei created for us.”

Argo's eyebrows rose. “I guess that explains how you know a head honcho like that,” her eyes flicked over to where her boyfriend and the game designer were still speaking.

“Pretty much,” Ran nodded. “It was a test-bed for some of the SAO graphics and whatnot. It was called, [Serene Garden].”

“Sounds nice,” Argo nodded cautiously, her eyes narrowing in confusion at the gravitas the discussion seemed to take.

“It was a virtual hospice,” Ran explained bluntly.

Argo blinked, confusion writ across her face for a long moment, before understanding dawned and she blanched. “Ah...I didn't, I mean...” She ran a hand over her face. “Fuck. Sorry.”

Ran shrugged, even as the other girls refused to meet the rat's eyes. “It's...not your fault. We're all just...waiting for the other shoe to drop, really.”

Argo frowned, “Whatcha' mean? I thought ya'd be happy to...er, sorry.” Argo sighed. “You all must have friends and family. I didn't mean ta' imply...”

Ran shook her head, purple hair shifting in the light breeze. “You know...I was kind of wondering what Kirito saw in you, Argo, but if you're like this with him...it's pretty cute.”

Argo gaped.

Argo blushed.

Argo sputtered.

Yuuki snorted, a long drawn-out sound of choked laughter even as Nori lost the fight to contain her own mirth, truly falling to the side this time and laughing loudly even as she rolled on the floor. Shiune pressed her head into her hand, as if embarrassed to even be seen among these people, though it was obvious from her shaking shoulders that she was constraining her own joy.

“Oi!” Argo pouted, crossing her arms. “Low blow!”

“Sorry,” Ran conceded, her lips twitching, “it just seemed like we could all use a laugh.”

Argo rolled her eyes, looking away from the group, but her face contained a resigned enjoyment that left little doubt about her true feelings.

“You're right, though,” Ran continued as the laughter dwindled. “We are trying to be happy. If sensei and Kirito are right...but, it just seems like...” Ran frowned, her eyes dropping to her hand, the easy motion of opening and closing the fingers something that most people took for granted. It was a painless movement...

Painless, now, for her too.

“Too good to be true,” Argo said quietly.

The other women looked at the information broker askance.

Argo shrugged. “I understand. Ya' get offered some amazin' deal and it seems to be too good to be true, too good to be real. You're just...waitin' for the catch...waitin' ta' see how long it takes for someone ta' wise up and understand ya' ain't worth it.” Her voice trailed off, the others pretending not to notice how her gaze strayed towards the younger man staring out over the city, or the soft yet worried smile on Argo's face.

“I suppose you do,” Ran smiled, though it too was tinged with sadness. It wasn't a pleasant thing to understand, after all. “If Kirito and Kayaba-sensei are right...it means...” She couldn't bring herself to say it. “We can't hope yet, not yet, at least. Hope is...too fragile,” Ran explained haltingly, barely even able to think the words, 'you're not going to die,' lest the tenuous belief shatter like spun glass.

The women, by silent agreement it seemed, turned their attention back to the food.

In time, lighter topics would pick the conversation back up.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
“Shouldn't we be helping Kirito-san and Ky-er, Heathcliff-sensei?” Talken asked nervously, sweeping his lime-green hair back with a worried gesture.

“Don't worry about that,” Tecchi advised with a grin. “You can't crowd genius,” he stated knowledgeably, “they just get snippy and frustrated. Best to let them think things through at their own pace. We'd just get in the way.”

“You sound like you know what you're talking about, Tecchi,” Jun noted, his boyish voice still high and light as he popped a strawberry into his mouth.

“Eh, I've met some big brains in my time,” Tecchi shrugged. “It's best to let them run themselves in circles for however long they need. Our job is to smack them upside the head when they're being stupid and remind them to eat and sleep.”

Jun barked a laugh, but Talken looked considering. “Do you really think that might be a problem?”

Tecchi scratched at the back of his head. “Maybe. Kirito and Heathcliff seem to have their heads on straight enough for being as smart as they are. Still, we'll be there if they need help. Best to just lay back and take it easy in the meantime.”

Raucous laughter erupted from the circle of women across the rooftop from them.

“Plus,” Tecchi noted, “going over to talk to Kirito or Heathcliff might attract their attention. You wouldn't want that boys, trust me.”

Talken and Jun traded looks. Perhaps their teammate was wiser than they gave him credit for?  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
...and that's the end of the info-dump, at least. Next chapter will be the last chapter of the first arc, followed by part of the story of Argo & Kirito's time in the beta.

For now, though, I need to get back to my quest. I'll see about getting another chapter out soon, though.


	5. [1.4]

“...and remember, I'll pay primo for any quest info you can dig up,” Argo stated cheerfully, bidding the caller goodbye, and subsequently dropping onto the bed with a noise that mixed a sigh and a groan. “All done...yay!” She exclaimed weakly.

“Here, I got dinner,” Kirito offered with a sympathetic smile, holding out a basket of fruit and vegetables. “I tried adding some basic spices like sugar and pepper and it seemed to work out okay, even without the [cooking] skill.”

“Thanks Ki-bou,” Argo grinned tiredly, accepting the offered peach with a lazy grab. “You didn't have to wait on me, though.”

“I like watching you work,” Kirito shrugged, oblivious to the way Argo's cheeks heated at his admission. “It's interesting to see someone who's so good with people. I'm just a little shy of a shut-in myself.”

“You didn't seem that way with Heathcliff,” Argo noted as she took a bite.

“Eh?” Kirito blinked, looking startled. “Well, that was...games. I know games, at least, and it's easy to talk about somethings like that with someone like him.”

Argo turned towards the young man, cocking her head as she looked him over, chewing slowly. Gradually, the gleam in her eyes turned from speculative to teasing.

Kirito felt a thrill of trepidation.

“Kiri-bou's got a man~crush!” Argo chanted with a grin.

“Wh-what!?” Kirito gaped, “I do not!”

“Don't worry, Ki-bou,” Argo smiled slyly, “I won't tell!” Her expression turned considering, though the mirth remained in her eyes. “He is kinda' hot, really...in that older, more experienced kind of way...if that's what you're in to.”

Kirito palmed his face, desperate to hide the fierce blush on it. “Argo...”

The rat rolled her eyes, “Just tryin' to get your goat.”

“It's fine,” Kirito shrugged. “Heathcliff...Kayba, he wasn't what I was expecting.”

“Yeah, I was expecting him to be all stuffy and weird. Instead, it was like dealing with an older, nerdier Kirito,” Argo admitted.

“Really?” Kirito asked, surprised.

“Yeah, though I think he was a bit too tricksy for Kirito. Did you catch the way he brought the [Sleeping Knights]?” Argo asked, suddenly intent.

“Hmm, yeah?” Kirito asked, enjoying the feeling of fullness from his light meal. “It was a good ambush. Shame that Yuuki kind of broke it early.”

Argo twitched, obviously conflicted with herself, before shaking her head in resignation. “Yeah, you don't arrange to talk to people specifically outside of a safe zone unless you're planning something. Especially when you outnumber people.”

“I don't really blame him, though,” Kirito shrugged. “I'd probably do something similar if I was in his place. Getting rezzed probably wouldn't take that long, but it would give him some time to come up with a better way to keep us quiet if we really wanted to cause him some trouble.”

Argo frowned silently for a moment. “Been' meanin' to ask, Ki-bou...now that we got a minute alone, but...you really think he's on the level?”

Kirito paused, staring up at the ceiling quietly. “I think...well, he's probably got the best idea of what's going on, at least.”

“...do you think he's right, though?” Argo pressed intently.

“Maybe? I don't really know,” Kirito frowned. “My best guess is that he thinks he's right, even if he's wrong, but...”

“But,” Argo prompted.

The dark-haired boy considered his words carefully, weighing them before speaking. “I really don't want him to be right,” he said eventually. “Because...if he is, I'm not sure if we'll ever get back. If he's right, I might never see my family again.”

“Yeah...” Argo sighed despondently, her eyes falling to the ground. “S'what I thought." She frowned. "I...I think I'll agree with ya' there, Ki-bou. I'd like to think I'll see mine again too. After all, who'd tease my lil' brother if I didn't come back?"

For a while, neither said anything, luxuriating in each others' company after a day full of deep revelations and tedious make-work. It took little time at all for Argo, as relaxed as usually pretended to be, to fully unwind, pulling Kirito down to the bed with her as they worked their way through a light dinner.

“So, you started that rumor?” Kirito asked, for want of anything else to say and desperately looking to fill the void he was trying not to think about.

“Pretty much,” Argo nodded. “I called up this jerk I know, Alphonse 777. He likes people to call him 'The Jackpot,'” Argo mock-shuddered. “He's another info-broker from the beta...but, he's a complete asshole. No rules, anything-goes type guy. He'd sell his own mother's mobile number to a telemarketer.”

Kirito snorted, “sounds horrible.”

“All that and more,” Argo grinned. “'Cept, he thinks I like him, so he'll work with me on certain things. As much as I hate it,” the girl sat up and stretched here, “he's sharp as a stiletto, so when I 'accidentally' drop a fact here or there, he's all set to snatch it up and run with it.”

“Why don't you just have one of your people do it?” Kirito asked as he opened his menu and began sorting through his inventory. “I mean, if you really don't like the guy?”

“Ah!” Argo grinned, “but that's the trick. If Al starts things, one of my guys will pick it up and feed it back to me. That way, if anyone ever decides to chase things down, it's his head'll be on the block, not mine.”

“What if he says he heard it from you?” Kirito asked curiously.

“I just pull up my transaction record at the bank,” Argo grinned widely, showing teeth. “After all, who'd believe 'Argo the Rat' ever gave anything away for free? Plus, it means Al's lackies do all the work and I don't have to pay my guys.”

Kirito paused, turned, and stared at the young woman before him. “Argo...don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you're terrifying sometimes.”

“Fu~fu~fu,” Argo huffed, throwing a leg over Kirito's abdomen, “you should know by now, Kiri-bou, flattery will get you everywhere.”

“We should talk about tomorrow, first,” Kirito said firmly, even while he wrapped his hands around the girl's waist.

“Spoilsport,” Argo snorted, but relented. “Fine, fine. Whatcha' plannin' oh fierce lone wolf black swordsman-kun?”

Kirito rolled his eyes. “I've got some grinding to do and I need to pick up a few quests. If I stay the night in the next town, I can pick up the [Anneal Blade Quest] the next morning, but...”

“You'll be out of town for at least a week at that rate,” Argo sighed, “and most of the quests for my favorite build are here in the city.”

There was a moment of mutual silence as they each digested that.

“...I could level up here in town for a few days,” Kirito stated in his best attempt to be casual, which admittedly wasn't very good. “There are a few quests that-”

“-yeah, no,” Argo shook her head. “You'll just hang around, bored out of your mind, Ki-bou. I know you, you're a battle junkie.”

“Sorry,” Kirito ducked his head slightly.

“You're you,” Argo shrugged, then leaned down, her wavy green hair sweeping around their faces like a curtain. “'S not a bad thing, Ki-bou. 'Sides, after I get to level five or so, I gotta' haul ass over to [Ridgewood Settlement] to get my claws. We can meet up and do the [Sneak Attack] unlock quest together.”

“Assuming everything's close enough to the beta,” Kirito nodded. “At least most of the quests still seem to work, if renting this room was anything to go by.”

“Sweet little spot, by the way,” Argo complimented. “Nice and private, just perfect for...well-”

Kirito's lips cut her off, one of his hands sneaking up to touch the bare skin between her blouse and pants, Argo hissing out an excited breath as they parted.

“I especially like how the old man who owns the place is half-deaf,” Argo confided, her own hands wandering. “No chance of getting kicked out if you make too much noise. Not like an inn room. Never even knew you could do that actually-”

“Argo,” Kirito said suddenly, locking eyes with her, “you talk too much.”

Argo snorted, going in for another quick kiss. “...and here I thought you were a gentleman, Ki-bou.”

“I thought you didn't like 'gentle,'” Kirito smirked, flipping them over.

Argo nearly growled, her eyes alight, “feisty. Lucky I like that.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kirito sighed as he looked down over his girlfriend's sleeping form...and wasn't that something strange to think about? Him with a girlfriend. He wasn't sure if his mom would have a heart attack or throw a party if she knew.

[I]Mom, dad...Sugu...[/I]

He shook those heavy thoughts free, concentrating instead on the whiskered face that was relaxed in deep sleep. The early glow of predawn had just started to build, but gave him enough light to make out the tan face resting on her pillow. Smiling, he set the note he'd written next to a plate of food and kissed the information broker lightly on the forehead.

It was funny, he'd seen his dad do the same to his mother on so many occasions, but never thought he'd be doing it himself.

Taking one last look at his lover, Kirito turned and crept out the door.

Sly eyes cracked open as soon as their owner heard the door shut, a smile playing at her lips. “Love ya' too, Kirito.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Thus ends the first arc. Next chapter will be a [Beta Tales] Interlude covering Argo and Kirito's relationship...and lewds.

The following chapter will start the second arc, in which there will be more [Sleeping Knights], grinding, questing, and other such gaming shenanigans.


	6. [Beta Tales – K&A]

Kirito's first thought upon waking was to wonder what kind of sadist had coded hangovers into a virtual reality game. As an amateur programmer himself, he understood the value of realism and verisimilitude in simulations, but in his considered opinion, there were lines one simply did not cross. Of course, he very much doubted a 'real' hangover was anything like what he was experiencing now. After all, pain was a somewhat subjective thing in SAO. True traumatic pain was safeguarded by the system. Instead, one merely felt an initial surge of...he called it, 'intense discomfort,' followed by a kind of awkward stimulation of the region in which the pain had originated from, resulting in pseudo-numbness.

Right now, that region was his head.

Unlike any other time he'd been wounded in SAO, though, the 'intense discomfort' stage of the pain recognition system seemed to wax and wane in time with the 'awkward numbness' stage, resulting in a kind of hyper-aware disembodiment that was really, really nausea-inducing.

...on second thought? Maybe this was more like an actual hangover than he cared to know.

He groaned and pressed a hand to his face, frowning as he blearily took in the room around him.

His second thought, on the other hand, was at once much simpler while also being much harder to express verbally.

Kirito made the executive decision to settle for, “Eep!”

“Not so loud,” the feminine form whispered, wincing. “Oh, my fucking head.”

“Sorry,” Kirito whispered, swallowing dryly. “Ah...er-Argo, did we-I mean...”

Unbidden, the images came readily to the forefront of his mind, strangely not dulled by the virtual intoxicants of the prior night.

“I-I gotta' go, Ki-ah, I mean, my dad's gonna' get peeved if I'm not up soon,” Argo confessed, her hand making a quick motion before Kirito could even register her words.

In a flash of light, she'd logged out.

Even against the not-pain, Kirito had noticed how she'd not met his eyes even once, while her own had been suspiciously wet.

Kirigaya Kazuto was not an expert on women by any means, but even he had more than a slight inking that crying girls were not the best thing to encounter after a night of...a night of...

He dropped back to the bed. Best to just let the status effect fade. It would still be there when he logged back in otherwise and no one would be home anyway. Closing his eyes, his mind drifted back.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
[I]“Woohoo!”

“It wasn't that exciting,” Kirito shook his head as he kept pace with his companion. Still, his lips were twitching into a smile as he watched her infectious enthusiasm.

“Aw c'mon, Kiri-bou,” the whiskered girl grinned widely. “Live a little! We just got away clean from a guild full of ninja! Freakin' ninja!”

“Alright,” Kirito allowed, his shoulders slumping slightly. “It was pretty awesome.”

“Right! 'An a awesome fight like that calls for an awesome celebration!” Argo elbowed him. “An' you're buyin' Ki-bou!”

“Huh?” Kirito blinked, pointing at himself in consternation. “Why me?”

“You jus' saved the damsel in distress, o' course you gotta' pay her bar tab!” Argo chuckled...or cackled.

“I...don't think that's exactly how it works,” Kirito smiled wryly, then broadened his expression into a smirk. “Besides, I don't even know if you're a real 'damsel.' You could just be trying to cash in on such a cute avatar.”

Argo stilled for a moment, her mirth faltering as a flush crept over her cheeks. A second later, though, she'd fully recovered her grin. “Aww...'snot a nice thing to say, Kiri-bou...but if you really need some proof...”

Kirito blinked as the green-haired girl slid up to him, leaning over to whisper in his ear.

Then she began to speak.

Kirito lasted all of ten seconds before leaping backwards, stammering with a wide-eyed blush on his face, holding up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay! I give! You're a real girl!”

“Fu fufufu,” Argo huffed, smiling deviously. “Aw, did Ki-bou get a little embawassed?”

She mentally congratulated herself on the fact that, with her hood up and in the fading light of the late evening, Kirito almost certainly couldn't see her own fierce blush.

“Geeze,” Kirito shook his head, “when I heard that the greatest info-broker was running around this floor, I'd kind of expected-”

“Someone all gruff and serious?” Argo asked with a shrug, still grinning. “Eh, that's no fun. No fun at all, Ki-bou. So how about that dinner?”

Rebellion warred on the black swordsman's face for a moment before resignation set in. “You know what? Sure. There's a pretty nice inn around here that I've heard good things about.”

“Now you're talkin'!” Argo cheered, pushing the swordsman forward.[/I]  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
[I]They'd had drinks. Quite a few drinks. Probably too many, in hindsight.

For fun, they'd even picked out a selection from the wine cellar, at the NPC's offer. Argo had even coaxed the black swordsman into a few glasses as they generally made fools of themselves pretending to be refined and genteel. Afterwards, they'd decided to try a few more of the 'adult' beverages, even though the wine hadn't tasted all that good.

At first, anyway.

After several glasses, it had actually been pretty nice.

But, as with all good things, it had to come to an end.

“I...think weahve had enough,” Kirito said slowly as he stumbled up the stairs.

“Hmm...I feel weird, Kiiii~bou,” Argo giggled. “Is this a weird status effect? Feels nicen'warm.”

Kirito snorted and caught himself at the last moment, reaching out to steady himself on Argo, who stumbled herself, right into the boy.

Blinking slowly, Kirito stared curiously at Argo, then looked at the wall he'd fallen against.

“Hey Argo...I thinsk shomethin's wrong with my um...head-thingie. My legsh don't work right.” Kirito stated slowly, frowning.

“Mine ain't doin' it either...ah, prolly a bug,” Argo laughed, finding the situation unbearably funny for some reason. “Hmm...ya'think we're drunk?”

Kirito worked his mouth, “Ah've...um...thast's not real alchihol. It's...not-real, er-what'sitcalled? Ritual? That things where is just numbers. Like, um...”

Argo looked at Kirito, who seemed to have just trailed off vaguely.

“Seven,” Kirito finally stated, then shook his head. “What were we talkin' about again?”

“He-heh!” Argo snickered, “we drank numbers! Mmm...hey, hey! Ki-bou! Got an idea!”

“Whatsthat?” Kirito asked, blinking.

“We should totally...like, kiss an' stuff!” Argo smiled as she threw an arm over Kirito's neck. “Thaz wha-always happens when peple drink...numbersh and stuff.”

“Uh...really?” Kirito asked, frowning through the mugginess in his head. Something about that idea seemed off. “Shouldn'a we only do tha...if, umm...if we're datin'?”

Argo blinked owlishly, obviously thinking over the point, then grinned. “Oh! Then lesh date! I really likes you, Ki-bou! You was so braves and kewl when you save me! Itsh like tha ole movie!” Swaying, Argo stumbled upright and clasped her hands together, “Save me Kirito-sama! Yoush my only hope!”

Then she collapsed in a tumble of giggles and laughter.

Kirito snickered, as Argo stayed laying face up, laughing at the ceiling as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

“Hee~eey, Ki-bou?” Argo slurred, not getting up. “My legs don work again. Think I need helps to muh room.”

“Ah...yeah, I shoul-get ta mines too,” Kirito nodded as he dropped to his knees clumsily to grab at Argo's outstretched hands. Together, they managed to push each other upright, slowly making their way down the hall where Argo proceeded to fumble the keys, drop them twice, and finally get them into the lock before attempting to turn them the wrong way for half a minute.

Eventually, both inebriated teens managed to stumble into the room.

“Mmm...need to get back to my room. Gotta'...uh, log-something,” Kirito muttered.

“Mmmh?” Argo asked tiredly, not releasing her grip on his arm. “Nah, Ki-bou, stay here...'sides, youse too-unwalky...hehe.”

Kirito leaned leaned against the door, shutting it with his back as he attempted to think of the really, really good reason he should have to not do this.

He was sure there was one.

It would...come to him, any moment now.

He shook his head as Argo pulled him forward...towards a really, really comfy-looking bed. Suddenly, staying the night in this room didn't seem all that bad of an idea at all. Argo grinned back at him, snickering as she pulled him onto the bed, both of them tumbling onto the virtual mattress with a laugh. Limbs tangled together, breath coming heavily, their faces ended up nearly touching, foreheads finally coming to rest against each other with an affectionate 'bump.'

“Argo...” Kirito whispered, breathing the girl's exhalations.

“Kiri-bou,” Argo smiled, her eyes glimmering as she slid her arms around the boy's neck. “I's gotta' confession to make.”

“Whazzat?” Kirito murmured, his tongue thick and awkward in his mouth as he felt a different kind of heat rise to his face than the drunken flush that stained his cheeks.

“I really do likes you.” Argo admitted. “Wazint just kiddin'. Youse a really nice guy. Heard about ya' helpin' players afore. I really liked it when ya' came for info fromme. Yoush cute.”

Kirito smiled slightly as he curled his hands around Argo's body. “Thanks...I, uh-thought you're pretty when your hood came down. Gotta' nice smile.”

“Think I'm gonna' kissh you now,” Argo cocked her head.

“'Kay,” Kirito acceded.

Their lips met.

It was a slow, sweet kiss, almost fragile in the tentative and gentle way it tested the waters. The young man probed with his lips, tentatively deepening the bond before receding, only to have the girl cheerfully and enthusiastically follow him, pressing forward eagerly. Her tongue swept his, urgency coating the gesture with a plaintive mewl. The tone changed, sensuality overtaking timidity as they began an age-old dance.

Drawing back, Kirito broke their liplock, letting his eyes slide open.

When had he closed them again?

Argo had, evidently, followed suit, though she'd allowed her eyes to stay shut even after their kiss ended. A deep red flush painted her cheeks, making the tan skin glow merrily even as her half-smile reflected a happiness that was deeper than the slight expression implied.

Finally, just as Kirito was beginning to think she might have fallen asleep, her eyes folded open languidly.

“Gonna' kissh youse agin,” Argo stated lazily.

“'kay,” Kirito smiled, repeating his earlier reply.

There was a raw need in this next mashing of lips, an alighted passion that hadn't been previously present, searing away drowsiness and mental turbidity as their mingling pulled the wholeness of their bodies into the act. Hands groped and pulled at flesh that, though it might not have been real, was certainly real enough at the moment.

Argo let out a groan as Kirito's crotch came into contact with her own, instinct guiding the black-haired boy to thrust blindly through the confines of his clothes.

“Uh-gotta' get-nekkid,” Argo muttered between kisses, her fingers sliding the menu into existence on sheer muscle memory. “Stupid clothes.”

“Heh,” Kirito snickered, his laughter catching in his throat as Argo forced him onto the bottom, flipping them as she smirked triumphantly, her clothes disappearing into a shower of fractal sparkles a moment later.

“Shounna' laugh, Ki-bou,” Argo grinned at his stupified expression while she ground her hips over his tented pants. “C'mon!”

Feeling as though his mind was floating away from his body, Kirito stabbed frustratingly at the air a few moments before Argo started giggling at the way his eyes always slipped back to her bare chest, the motion doing...interesting things to her aforementioned body parts.

Finally though, Kirito was able to force himself to look away long enough to allow his own clothing to dissolve away.

Argo's gaze instantly trailed down the expanse of exposed flesh, the lithe-yet-muscular chest, the taut stomach, and-

-her eyes widened as she realized exactly what was tucked between her legs, resting on her lower lips. “Ooooh,” the appreciative noise escaped her as nerve endings seemed to catch fire in her loins. “Fuck, Ki-bou...I wannit. I wannit in me, gods...”

Kirito closed his eyes as he fought against the urge to just blindly thrust against the damp, pleasant warmth positioned above his pulsing dick. “Ar-argo!” What was he supposed to do again? Something about...into her?

His eyes opened again, immediately assaulted by the shifting orbs of flesh on Argo's chest, topped as they were by deliciously dark and stiff nipples and taut areola.

“Argo!” He gasped aloud, his hand clamping down perhaps too tightly on her right breast, sending a surge of tingling pressure and not-pain through her nervegear as the boy beneath her began to clumsily tease and prod at her chest.

“Ki-bou!” Argo shouted as her hand found her clit, massaging the erect button while she ground herself along the engorged pole beneath her.

“Fuck!” Kirito cursed with urgency as he finally decided to end this pleasurably tortuous stalemate before...

...before something. He wasn't clear on why, but...

...he was close to something and he needed to be in Argo before that happened...

...he needed it, desperately.

The world spun as he forced Argo beneath him, her hands flying off to the sides to catch herself as she gave a half-delighted, half-alarmed squeal, staring up at Kirito with wide eyes. There was anxiousness in her gaze, Kirito distantly noted, apprehension and nervousness, but...they were set, determined...

...alight with lust.

He didn't ask for permission. He didn't pause to make sure this was what she wanted. He was too far gone for that, too lost in his own passions.

He thrust in.

Argo's back arched as she let out a startled cry of exhalation, nearly screaming as Kirito plunged himself into her, the not-pain pressure spreading around her groin unpleasantly.

Still, she'd come too far to turn back...and it wasn't as though it actually hurt...

As the dark-haired beast above her thrust away, the numbness began to seep away and-

“Oh gods!” Argo cried, forcing her hips up to meet her lover's. “Fuck, Ki-bou! Fuck, keeps going!”

Kirito heaved with exertion, gasping unnecessarily as habit insisted he needed to, desperate to keep up the pace when he was so, so close...

“Fuck me Ki-bou! Fuck me!” Argo screamed at the top of her lungs, writhing under him to force his rod in contact with more of her inflamed flesh.

Then, in one blissful moment, she saw stars as a flood of Kirito's seed shot out within her.

They collapsed nearly in unison, gasping and pleasure-blind as Kirito could barely manage to shift himself off Argo.

All was silent for a moment.

“...that wash fun,” Argo stated, still staring skyward.

“Yeah,” Kirito sighed.

“Wanna' doit 'gain?” Argo pressed, smiling sultrily as she looked towards Kirito's still-damp tool.

“Yeah,” Kirito breathed, “think I'm...tired, though...”

“I cans fix,” Argo grinned, slinking down his body languidly to lay her tongue on the simulated mixture of their mingled essence. “Thats.”[/I]

[I]They didn't get to sleep for some time after that.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kirigaya Kazuto sighed as he finished toweling himself off and pulled on a quick change of clothes before heading down to the kitchen. His body was, very vocally, expressing it's displeasure at being neglected for so long. A trip to the restroom had been the first order of business, followed quickly by a too-cold shower to alleviate the...problems he'd had after remembering the prior night in Aincrad.[/I]

[I]“What am I going to do?” He asked himself as he dropped into a chair at the table.

“About what?”

Kazuto jumped, spinning, as he heaved a deep breath at the sight of his mother.

Midori raised an eyebrow, checking him over. “I hope you aren't spending too much time on that game of yours, Kazuto. Here, I was just making yakitori. Your sister won her kendo match and you know how crazy she is about this stuff.” She gestured to the nearly-done meat cooking.

Kazuto swallowed, shaking the temptation of food off. “No, I'm just...well, thinking about something. Sorry, I should have remembered you'd be home by now.”

“As long as you keep enough of your head in the real world,” Midori warned. “Now what's this problem of yours?”

“Problem?” Kazuto asked, his voice just a half-pitch too high as it cracked tellingly. He coughed. “What problem?”

Midori sighed, shaking her head as she turned away from her son to tend the meat. “Honestly, Kazu...it's written all over your face. I don't suppose it's a girl-problem?” The mother's question was almost hopeful.

This time Kazuto yelped when he answered, “No! I mean, ah...”

Midori blinked, turning as she looked her son over again, her lips twisting into a grin Kazuto swore would be more at home on Argo's teasing face than-

Argo.

Kazuto bit his lip, the thought bringing forth echoes of the last time he'd seen his...his...whatever he and Argo were to each other now.

Midori's face lost it's grin as she watched her son's expression dissolve from panic into something depressed and painful to look at. “Kazuto...did something...happen?” She asked tentatively.

Kazuto frowned and was about to shake off the question before he looked up at the only woman he could ever remember calling 'mother,' even though she might not be that in biological truth. “I...um, I need...advice, um-mom.”

Midori's eyes widened, then lit up with happiness.

Kazuto blinked, what had he done to make her...

“Okay, well first Kazuto, I need to know what you did,” the older woman stated with an edge of sternness.

Kazuto blanched, then recovered quickly. “I...ah, I-mean, I think...I made her...cry.” He whispered, the admission close enough to the truth to make his heart clench.

Midori sighed. She was tempted, very tempted, to ask what this was all about, but...well, her son wasn't an open person by nature and it was probably only random chance that was giving her this opportunity in the first place. If she pushed...he might close up on her.

“This is more serious than I though,” Midori contented herself with saying, humming thoughtfully for a moment, then nodding. “Okay, Kazu, this is what you do...”

Kazuto listened raptly.[/I]  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Argo logged back in hours later, hoping to get out of the inn and away before...

She shook her head, best not to think about that catastrophe. Kirito probably thought she was a complete slut-freak. First she slept with him after barely knowing him, then she ran off in a panic! Dammit, maybe if she just avoided him for a while-

“Hey.”

Argo spun, her eyes wide as she saw that, contrary to her hopes, Kirito was indeed already logged in and-

Her world spun as the status effect kicked in and she grabbed at the dresser for support.

“Here, drink this. I thought you might need it,” Kirito offered quietly, placing a blue bottle in her hand. Unlike common, tailored anti-poison, this was a full status restoration potion. She drank it greedily, relishing the relief it brought. Forcing herself upright, she fought the deep blush overtaking her face as she kept her eyes lowered, locked onto-

-a bouquet of flowers?

Unbidden, her gaze slid up to Kirito's face, taking note of the awkward way he stood and the way his eyes were set off to the side...as well as the faint dusting of a flush over his cheeks.

“I'm sorry.” He stated forcefully, then took a breath and forced himself to meet her gaze. “I...I know that you wanted me to come to your room, but I shouldn't have.” His eyes widened as he rapidly amended what he'd just said. “I mean, not that I didn't enjoy what happened, but-” He palmed his face, “God, I'm messing this up,” he muttered disgustedly.

Argo blinked, still staring at him as if he was about to dissolve into a million fractals of light.

“I just-I wanted you to know that it was my fault,” Kirito admitted firmly. “...and I wanted to take you out, to a real restaurant, for a real dinner to apologize. I understand if you don't want to, because I was a jerk and-and-”

Kirito's mouth worked for a moment, trying to make something come out.

“I got you flowers,” he finished lamely, extending the bouquet. “I'm sorry.”

Argo's hands reached out to accept the bundle of flowers and, like that, it was as if a spell was broken. Her shoulders shaking as she fought against her reaction. It wasn't the time or place, she knew, and the tears prickling at her eyes would only make the situation worse and more embarrassing, but...

“Argo?” Kirito asked worriedly, his face a mixture of concern and an absolute void of understanding. “Are you alright?”

“Ki-kiri-Kitito,” Argo choked out before giving up and collapsing against him, breathtaking laughter and tears competing for dominance as hours of tension bled out.

The panic and worry on Kirito's face just pushed her further into the deep end.

The black-haired boy watched the whiskered girl unable to decide what was going on. Laughing was good, right?

“I'm never going to understand women,” Kirito sighed.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
...I thought this was going to be a short chapter. I really did. My expectations are laughing at me, I can hear them.

Okay, so...leave your thoughts on the way out. Hunger is calling me. Comments and criticism welcome.

Also, yes, Argo would have been in a lot of pain if that hadn't happened with the 'pain safeties' on. Kirito wouldn't have been feeling too hot after Argo's first blow job either. Thankfully, they've gotten better. Practice makes perfect, after all.

Also, Midori does not know for sure that Kirito has a girlfriend. She does suspect, but as noted above, she doesn't want to push for fear that Kazuto might crawl back into his room and disappear for a few weeks...and, no, she doesn't suspect that it's anywhere near as 'serious' as it really is between him and Argo. Kirito hypothesized correctly in that she'd either faint or cheer for joy.


	7. [2.0]

Kirito groaned and stretched, working out the kinks in his sore muscles.

“I miss when this was a game,” he muttered, scowling as he felt something pop satisfyingly, “at least the beds were more comfortable.”

Shaking his head to dismiss the errant musing, he slid two fingers down and activated his menu. Scrolling down his list of activated skills, he sighed.

“Okay, I've got my [Anneal Blade],” he noted idly, “but I don't have [Battle Healing] yet. That's always a bitch to get, especially since I'll rez back in the [Town of Beginnings] if I cut things too close. That's days worth of travel time lost. Urgh.”

Checking his inventory, he frowned, but nodded. “Berries, wild oats, radishes...I should be able to get my [Woodcraft] skill pretty soon at this rate. This would be so much easier if I could just bot some of this...”

Even in the beta, he remembered, there had been attempts at botting SAO. Most of them had turned out...badly. The system really had been too complex to 'trick' with even the most detailed of bot programs.

“Hey there!”

Kirito blinked, turning to the villager who'd spoken to him. “Uhh...hi?”

The man, who looked much like the average peasant, though with a few unique imperfections here and there, smiled warmly at the swordsman. “You wouldn't happen to be an 'Adventurer,' would you? You seem a bit young, but...”

He looked at Kirito speculatively, scratching at the week-old stubble along his jaw.

“No, no!” Kirito grinned, “I'm an adventurer. I know I might seem young, but I'm very talented and skilled.”

“Hmm...well, alright then,” the man nodded. “I need to head out into the forest to pick up some herbs and whatnot for the old lady that makes the healing poultices, but there's a bunch of wolves that've been clawing around and I was wondering if you'd be up to accompanying me?”

Kirito frowned pensively. It would be a good opportunity to earn a bit more experience, given he was only level three...and wolves were still a good kill, especially in numbers. Pretty soon, he'd have to move on to the deeper sections of the forests with the monstrous spiders...

“Of course,” the man added temptingly, “I'm sure the old woman would throw in a nice reward for someone who helped her.”

Kirito grinned slightly. “Sure. I can spare a few hours.”

“I'm much obliged, thank you,” the man nodded to him, grabbing a large empty sack of coarse cloth at his feet. “If you're ready now, we can be off.”

“That's fine by me,” the black-haired swordsman replied. “I was about to head out into the forest anyway.”

“Oh? Something out there in need of an adventurer?” The man asked, frowning.

Kirito cocked his head oddly. There was something...strange about the man's tone. Was it...unease? Hmm...well, if what he had guessed about them was accurate, then it shouldn't be any surprise at all, really.

“Not exactly,” Kirito shook his head, and saw the subtle relaxation in the man's frame. “I'm...” his tongue caught on the words 'low-level,' and he switched tracks quickly, “not very experienced. I was hoping to find something to...test my skills on.”

The man nodded sagely, then blinked, “Ah! Where are my manners? My name is Hugo.”

“I'm called Kirito,” the younger man smiled, “so where exactly are these plants that we're looking for?”

“Oh, they should be over there...” Hugo explained, pointing far off as they approached the woodline.

Kirito listened intently, mentally categorizing this as just another escort mission.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kirito sighed as he watched his health dip into the red.

“My you are a strong young man,” Hugo complimented as he came out from behind a small copse of trees.

“I'm getting there at least,” Kirito breathed, his chest heaving.

He thought disparagingly that the game hadn't been this tiring when it had still been, well, a game.

“Bad doggies!”

Kirito blinked, looking around.

Turning to the herb-gatherer, he frowned, “did you hear that?”

Hugo looked up and around before shaking his head slowly. “...I'm afraid I-”

“No, bad doggies! Bad!”

Kirito's eyes widened as the warped sound of glass shattering rang out, signaling a creature's destruction...or a players. “Follow me!”

Casting only a glance or two back to the villager, making sure that he was indeed following, Kirito dashed forward in the direction of the sound, his hand on the hilt of his blade. Honestly, he'd been wondering why he and the man hadn't attracted more mobs than they had, but if someone else was out here...

Cresting the next hill, he took one look down and instantly shot a grim look towards the herb-gatherer.

“Hide now!” Kirito growled at Hugo before running down the hill.

Gathered around a large tree below him were nearly a dozen wolves baying at it's base. The sleek and deadly beasts were growling, clawing, and jumping towards the lowest branch. It wasn't hard to see why, either. Nestled among the thick green leaves was a young teen, maybe even younger, with short brown hair.

It took only a glance to confirm she was a player, not an NPC.

If her clothes, one of the basic starting sets of armor, hadn't given it away, the glare of the green text above her head would have. It was too far off for Kirito to really read, but the meaning was clear enough.

Grimacing, he did the mental math in his head and pulled out the only low-ranked healing potion he possessed before frowning and stowing it back in his inventory as he slid his way down the rocky hill. His eyes flickered around, looking for-ah!

Kirito grinned as he jumped on top of a large rock and whistled loudly.

Instantly, the wolves turned away from the cornered girl and towards the black-clad swordsman who had just attracted their attention.

“Bring it,” Kirito grinned.

The wolves growled and lunged.

Kirito readied his sword, resisting the urge to use a [Sword Art] right off the bat. Even the most basic attack multipliers had cool-down times. Fighting this many enemies, one had to be very, very careful when using them.

As the first wolf reached the base of the rock Kirito was standing on, it lunged upward, leaping off the slope and skittering it's claws across the stone surface.

Kirito's grin sharpened as he jammed his blade into the wolf, even as he danced to the side to avoid another wolf leaping at him. The lunge fell short, mostly in thanks to his terrain advantage.

“There's a reason the high ground is the high ground,” Kirito snarled as he took a single step back before finally engaging a [Sword Art].

His [Anneal Blade] swept out in a wide arc. It was one of the least-damaging, lowest-level skills, but it had one important attribute.

The [Knockback] took effect, throwing the wolves to the ground over five feet back even as Kirito froze for a few precious seconds.

Just as the wolves overcame their surprise, Kirito regained control of his body, swinging the blade over his head and bringing it down solidly on one particularly daring wolf.

A sudden sound drew his attention to the popup text that had emerged in his vision.  
[CENTER]   
[COLOR=#00ff00]>

Through prolonged combat in excess of [10 Hours] at low health, you have learned:

[Battle Healing Lvl. 1][/COLOR][/CENTER]  
[LEFT]   
Kirito's grin turned positively feral as he looked down at the growling wolves which still surrounded him. Belatedly, he noticed that the wolf whose head he'd carved in had dissolved into a million multicolored pixels.[/LEFT]

Taking another stance, he made himself ready to do battle again.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
“That...may have been cutting it too close,” Kirito sighed as the last wolf was finally defeated.

“Is...is it safe yet?” Hugo asked from further up the hill, his voice fearful, yet awed.

Kirito looked around, not daring to step down from his perch atop the 'high ground.' “I...think so. Stay where you are for now, Hugo.”

“That was awesome!”

Kirito blinked, turning to the small form which was scampering down the tree. She, because the skirt was something of a giveaway, was indeed quite young-looking. Although, he reminded himself, that didn't really matter in a world like this.

“Uhh...thanks,” Kirito smiled awkwardly as he gave another, final, look around before sheathing his sword. “...what are you doing out here, anyway?”

The younger girl appeared to be actually acting her age as she bit her lip and looked down. “I...may have gotten a little lost.”

Kirito frowned and looked her over again, taking in the bedraggled appearance, the slightly tattered clothing, and the tired look in the girl's eyes. “No offense, but...you look a little young to be out this far. Shouldn't you be staying in the [Town of Beginnings]?”

If anything, the girl shrank further.

“There were...these guys on the first day, who told me it would be good to get an early start, before all of the good grinding areas were cleared?” The girl muttered, pressing the tips of her fingers together worriedly. “And...I kind of...went a little too far? Then I realized I couldn't log out and I've been trying to find someone to help me for days!”

Kirito blinked slowly.

“You've been...out here, for days?” Kirito asked slowly, looking back up at her name.  
[CENTER]   
[COLOR=#d94e4e]>[/COLOR][/CENTER]

“How have you been surviving?” Kirito pressed, wondering if this was some kind of troll.

“Oh!” Silica smiled, “I was in a youth group that went camping and stuff. It was really hard at first, but after a day or two, I got this [Woodcraft] skill,” Kirito subtly twitched, “and things got a lot easier! Except when I got a mob like that, but then I just climbed a tree until the aggro went away or something else caught their attention. Usually, though, it's one or two, so I can take them on pretty easy! I just got to level five and-”

-Kirito promptly choked.

“You're level [I]five?![/I]” He asked incredulously, unconsciously remembering the level up notice he'd just received.

The announcement he'd just gone up to [I]level four[/I].

“Umm...sorry?” Silica winced, “is that...is that bad?”

Kirito worked his jaw for a moment, trying and failing to force words out before shaking his head in defeat. “Look...I've got this quest I'm finishing up. Why don't you come with me and I'll try to explain things, okay?” Still, the fact that she already had the [Woodcraft] skill went a long way towards explaining things. At the lowest levels, it let a person find edible food, clean water, and build simple shelters. She'd probably been surviving on berries and stuff. Given the taste of everything save ingredients, he'd been looking forward to acquiring the skill, even though it wasn't normally something he'd go for so aggressively. The simple utility of it made it more than necessary in a world like this.

“Oh, thank you so much!” The young girl gushed, bowing at the waist. “Um...I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Silica.”

“I'm Kirito,” the dark-haired swordsman nodded. “In the future, though, unless someone is wearing a [Cloaking Item], you can just check their name.” So said, he pointed up with a single finger.

Silica blinked, the focused her eyes on the space above Kirito's head, narrowing them until delighted realization sent them wide.

“Oh wow! I didn't know you could do that! You must be really good at this game, Kirito-san!” Silica grinned bashfully.

“J-just Kirito,” the black-haired swordsman shook his head, bemused. “Anyway, I've got to get back to my escort quest, so...”

Silica blinked, then nodded. “Of course! Lead the way, senpai!”

Kirito sighed as he began to trudge up the hill. The girl was cute, no doubt, in a way that reminded him vaguely of Suguha, but...well, for some reason, he got the feeling she'd be just as much trouble as Sugu was, too. Neither his sister nor this girl were the type to go looking for trouble, exactly, but...both of them seemed to find it regardless. Then there was the problem of explaining things to her...

...the day had started out so well, too.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
When you get lost in the woods and kill your way through boars, wolves, and other assorted nastiness, then come out stronger than you went in? On Accident?

That's a Winning Fail, Silica. Be proud.


	8. [2.1]

“So we're trapped!?” Silica squeaked with alarm.

“More or less,” Kirito sighed, having explained the situation to the young girl. Well, most of the situation, at least. He'd carefully omitted anything about Kayaba himself, turning some of what they'd talked about in their meeting into guesswork on his part. Hopefully, Silica would help spread the 'rumor' he'd heard about once she got back to civilization.

“That's quite a story, lad,” Hugo stated gravely. “Powerful magic indeed if things are as you say, not that I doubt you, of course!”

Kirito gave the older man a smile to show he hadn't taken offense, but cocked his head as a thought occurred to him. “Say...do you know anything about magic, Hugo?”

The peasant blinked, obviously taken aback by the question, before frowning in consideration. “Ah, well...that sort of thing isn't for people like us to know about, sonny, but...I suppose you could ask the old woman about it. She might know something.”

Kirito shrugged, it had been a long shot.

“How can you be so calm!?” Silica asked, alarm shading her gaze as she hugged herself. “I just thought there was a glitch or something! What about my family! My little brother! Will I ever get to see them again!?”

Kirito's eyes widened. Maybe he'd overestimated Silica's age, instead of underestimating it. Or...maybe he was just too mature about these things? He knew he wasn't exactly 'normal,' but...was he this out of touch with people?

“Hey,” Kirito said quietly, reaching out to lay a hand on the girl's shoulder, anchoring her as she looked up at him with too-big eyes. “It'll be okay. We'll get through this. Remember how I told you the resurrection system is still working? Even if you do get hurt, all that'll happen is you'll show back up at the [Town of Beginnings]. It'll be okay.”

Hugo looked away awkwardly as Silica began to calm down.

“B-but...we can't...we don't have any idea why this happened...” the brown-haired girl mewled quietly.

“All that means is that we need to work hard to figure it out,” Kirito consoled her with a warm smile, “so that we can fix it.”

Silica took a deep breath, then nodded, swallowing as she did so. “Thank you, Kirito-senpai. I'm sorry I-”

Kirito grinned and waved her off, “It's not a big deal, don't worry about it.”

Silica blushed, but nodded.

Hugo coughed pointedly, “there's wisdom in what the lad says, little lady. Compass is a powerful spirit that guides all our lives. Your friend was smart to go to the priests first. They know the most about adventurers like you...at least, the most among us People of the Sky. I dare say you'd know more about yourselves than anyone else.”

Kirito frowned as he nodded agreeably, hiding the worry that the man might be wrong on that note. Instead, he looked to the man in curiosity. “You said...'People of the Sky'?” He could hear the casual importance in the phrase, as if someone had said the word 'Japanese' or 'American,' but could they really...?

“Oh,” Hugo blinked. “If what you say is true, then you wouldn't know...it's what we call ourselves. We folk who live here in Aincrad, but who aren't adventurers like you lot.”

Kirito stared. Had SAO had fluff? Actual backstory fluff? He knew about Aincrad in general and the NPCs had always seemed to understand they were in a floating castle in the sky, but...

He'd never seen or heard them refer to themselves as...anything like a group. Like...like they had a...

“This might be an...odd question,” Kirito asked slowly, “but...who rules these lands? I mean, is there someone in charge?”

“Yes indeed!” Hugo grinned. “We have three lords who govern this, the First Land of Aincrad. We are in the lands of the Duke Gramont. His manor is,” Hugo looked around him before pointing towards one direction. “Thereabouts in that direction, several days travel, though.”

Kirito nodded slowly, “and the other two? You said there were three lords?”

“Aye,” Hugo nodded. “There's a Baron Ulrich and a Wildcount by the name of Ericson, though I don't know much of him.”

Kirito took the information in passively, but attentively. If this world still worked by the rules of the game...

This could be really important.

He remembered what might have been the manor-castle type building Hugo was referring to, but there had been NPC guards stationed around the place that hadn't let any adventurers in. Gossip had flown between the beta testers about the areas, but after the guards had proven far too high-level to force through or sneak around, most had dropped the issue in favor of more interesting subjects.

If those areas were available now...

Kirito narrowed his eyes, his competitive streak whispering in his ear.

He'd be meeting up with Argo in a day or two, which gave him time to get ready, and the manor was in the opposite direction from the [Town of Beginnings] from his position, so he'd likely be one of the front-runners in being able to get there. His eyes flickered towards Silica for a moment, considering. There could be others ahead of him, though.

He'd have to hurry.

“-rito-senpai?”

The black-haired young man blinked, turning to Silica, “Huh, sorry? I was thinking about quests. Did you say something Silica?”

The girl blushed and fidgeted under Kirito's gaze. “Oh, um...I'm sorry for interrupting, it's just...you seem to really know about the game-er, about everything, so I was wondering,” her voice trailed off to a tone so quiet that Kirito could barely hear her, “if you could teach me how to play?”

Kirito stared at her, then smiled.

“Sure, Silica...I guess I could. I was thinking about meeting a friend in a day or two. After we run a few quests, she could escort you back to the [Town of Beginnings], if you're okay with that idea. I could give you a few pointers between now and then.” Kirito's explanation prompted a slight frown as Silica bit her lip.

“I...thank you, Kirito-senpai,” Silica smiled broadly.

“...and you can just call me 'Kirito,' ya'know?” The black-haired boy grinned weakly.

“Okay senpai!” The young girl smiled.

Kirito frowned as he turned towards Hugo, who seemed to be having a sudden fit of coughing. Rolling his eyes, Kirito made an obvious show of looking around their position before turning back to the older man. “Alright, it doesn't look like there are any more wolves at the moment, so Hugo, you can get back to gathering what you need. I'll be showing Silica a thing or two while we keep watch, okay?”

Still 'coughing,' Hugo nodded and set off to the bushes a few feet away.

Looking to Silica, Kirito frowned thoughtfully, “so...how much do you know about SAO...or gaming?”

Silica blushed slightly under the attention and looked away. “I...know a little? I had to look up a lot of words when I started playing a month or two ago. The first MMO I played was...um, Elder Tale? I think?”

Kirito nodded, that at least gave him something to work with. “Alright. I played Elder Tale a while back...I think the biggest difference between the two are the stats...and magic.”

“Oh! That's why I wanted to play SAO,” Silica smiled as they continued walking in a slow circle around the section of the woodland Hugo was gathering from. “Magic is really...complicated. I wasn't very good at it, so I wanted to play a game without it. I thought it'd be easier.”

“Ah,” Kirito nodded sagely. “Magic does add another layer of complication to everything. In a lot of ways, SAO substitutes [Sword Arts] for magic, but we'll get to that later. We should talk about stats first. Do you know the primary stats for SAO?”

Silica blinked, frowning in thought. “Let's see...there's strength, agility, vitality...and, um...intellect...wisdom...”

“Charisma and luck,” Kirito smiled, opening his menu with a quick swipe of his fingers. “Unlike Elder Tale, SAO uses certain central ability scores to define most of your character's powers. Depending on how high your ability scores, your stats, are, they can give bonuses to skills, too.”

“Okay, I think I get it,” Silica nodded, bringing up her own menu page to compare with Kirito's.

Kirito took the liberty of doing the same, frowning as he did so. “Why did you put so many points into Luck ?”

Even though he'd done his best not to sound judgmental, a shred of disbelief must have leaked into his voice because Silica ducked her head in embarrassment.

“Umm...I thought it was good to be lucky?” Silica asked innocently.

“Maybe I should go over what the stats actually mean?” Kirito asked, frowning. “ Strength is...pretty self-explanatory. It means you can use heavier swords and shields, you do more damage with individual attacks as well as how well you hit, and certain skills like [climbing] and [swimming] will be easier for you.”

“I get it,” Silica grinned. “That's pretty easy, senpai!”

“ Agility is a little bit more difficult,” Kirito cautioned. “This stat,” here Kirito pointed to Silica's rather nicely appointed score...or, at least, certainly better than her Strength score in his opinion, “controls how fast you dodge, how fast you run, and if you're using a very light weapon, like a small dagger or a throwing weapon, Agility can control how well you hit. Agility also controls how well you can deflect hits using the [parry] skill. It also determines modifiers for skills like [stealth], [acrobatics], and [pickpocketing].”

Silica's eyebrows rose in tandem with the size of her eyes, “oh...so that's a really important stat, huh?”

“It depends on how you want to play the game,” Kirito explained. “All the stats are important, but it's really what you want your character...” the black-haired swordsman made an odd face, “or, what you want to be good at.”

Silica frowned, her posture obviously confused.

“Think of it like this,” Kirito continued, “I usually pick Agility and Charisma , but I drop a few points in Strength to be able to wield high-damage swords. Do you understand that?”

Silica nodded.

“That's what people call a 'character build.'” Kirito explained. “There's a lot of slang for character builds. For instance, 'glass canon' is a build that focuses on hitting really hard, but doesn't have many hit points. I'm what some people call a 'parry tank' or a 'dodge tank,' meaning I can take a hit, but I prefer skill over brute force. I'll explain why I picked Charisma in a minute.”

The younger girl's eyes lit up in realization, “Oh! Okay, so different stats are important for different things, but they have to work together, otherwise you can't do what you want to.”

“Exactly,” Kirito grinned. “Now, Vitality determines how much HP you have, along with your level. There are also a few [sword arts] that work off Vitality as well as a few skills like the one I just got, [combat healing].”

So saying, Kirito opened up his skill window and showed off his new skill proudly, letting the young girl read the text.

“That sounds really useful,” Silica whispered, rubbing at her chin thoughtfully.

“It only works while you're not moving,” Kirito admitted, “but for a build like mine, that's not really important. Are you okay to move on?”

Silica nodded.

“That's it for the physical stats,” Kirito admitted. “Although...I should warn you that leveling isn't the only way to increase stats.”

“It isn't?” Silica asked curiously.

“No. You can take time to train a stat, just like IRL,” Kirito laughed slightly at the odd look Silica gave him. “In real life, if you do a lot of push ups, you get stronger, right? If you read a lot of books, you get smarter, right? It isn't as fast as grinding and leveling, but if you don't want to be fighting mobs all the time, you might think about it.”

Silica frowned thoughtfully, but nodded, a look of consideration on her face.

“Now we're getting into the mental stats. Intellect is kind of like Strength in that it's pretty easy to understand. It effects a lot of crafting skills like [blacksmithing], [woodworking], and [scribing]. It also effects a lot of lore skills that can give you bonuses regarding certain monsters or enemies if you have those skills. I think the one for the kobolds, the first floor main mobs, is [knowledge: lizardfolk].”  
Inwardly, though, Kirito frowned, the beginnings of a strange suspicion forming.

Kirito hesitated, then decided to add, “Also, there are certain rare weapons that use Intellect or another stat to calculate damage or crit rates, but those are, like I said, rare drops or quest items. I think I saw one or two among the other betas during the entire thing.”

“You really do know a lot, Kirito-senpai,” Silica smiled. “ Wisdom is next, though, right? Isn't that like...common sense or something?”

“Or something,” Kirito agreed, a smirk tugging at his lips. “ Wisdom is important for a lot of skills like [perception], [sense motive], [detect], and others. There's also a build that goes without armor or most weapons that gets to add Wisdom as a bonus to dodge. Honestly, Wisdom is a pretty big 'dump stat' for a lot of players.” Seeing the confusion at the term, Kirito elaborated, “that means it's a stat that doesn't have enough uses for it to be valuable for many players, so not many people like to put points in it. There were rumors about some really good builds later-game for wis-builds, but...” Kirito shrugged,

“ Charisma , though,” Kirito pointed at the lightly-glowing screen, “it's basically the stat that governs a lot of the social skills: things like [public speaking], [fast-talk], [bluff], [intimidate], and a few more besides. If you build the right type of swordsman, you can use [feint], a Charisma skill, to trick enemies into attacking. If you use the right [Sword Arts], you can also inflict debuffs, uh...weakening effects on enemies and buffs, which are bonuses, on your allies. Given the fact that it lets you [feint] and do a couple of other tricks in combat, I really like my Charisma to be pretty high.”

“So much to remember,” Silica whined quietly, tugging at her hair in frustration.

“If you want to stop...” Kirito smiled gently.

“No!” Silica yelped, then calmed, still shaking her head. “We're almost done, anyway. What about Luck ?”

“ Luck ,” Kirito repeated, wondering how to break it to her gently, “...is usually another dump stat.”

Silica hung her head.

“Sorry,” Kirito sighed, “it's just that...well, the Luck stat has a bit of a...reputation in the gaming communities. Whenever it's in a game, it usually doesn't have a noticeable effect on gameplay, unlike other stats. There are exceptions,” Kirito warned, “but it's generally pretty useless. I think it's supposed to control drop rates in SAO, as well as crit rates. There are also a bunch of gambling skills, like [card-shark] and [high-roller] that should get really popular after we open up the fifth-floor casino. I...think it's supposed to help your odds of opening up some quest lines, too, but that might just be gossip.”

Despite the fact that it was considered a 'dump stat,' in SAO, Argo had taken a particular shine to it after the casino had become accessible...and the info-broker did always seem to get better drops than he did when she got in a [last attack].

Kirito frowned thoughtfully. Maybe he should invest a few points in the stat?

Silica colored slightly at the idea she'd become a gambler, but shook her head. “I think Luck is an awesome stat! It was luck that Kirito-senpai found me, right?”

Kirito snorted, he supposed that was one way of-

The black-haired boy stopped abruptly.

...if, just 'if' the players weren't players anymore...

...if he really was getting stronger as he gained Str ...

...was Luck ...was it an actual, quantifiable, numerical value that correlated to the statistical odds of something 'good' happening to you?

“Huh,” Kirito muttered intelligibly.

“Kirito-senpai! Hugo-san says he's got enough stuff now!” Silica called back to him from where she'd continued walking in the large patrol they'd performed.

...but then, what about Int ? Or Wis ? Or Cha ? Were they just stats? If raising Vit got you an objective benefit like more HP, which meant you were physically harder to kill...

“Kirito-senpai?” Silica called, a pinch of concern in her voice.

“Coming,” Kirito called out, forcing his feet to begin moving.

There would be time later to figure this out. He had a quest to finish.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
So...in other news, foreshadowing is apparently a thing. Who'd have guessed.

In more seriousness, this chapter was a bit slow and I'm sorry about that. I'm hoping the info-dump was semi-palatable, at least. For those of you who haven't already understood, I'm mixing a bit of The Gamer and Pen & Paper RPGs into the real-world MMO theme. I don't have a hard and fast rule on how much of what I'm going to include, but SAOff will evolve as the story needs it to and incorporate some different elements. There will also be various allusions and more than a few cameos, likely. Beware [ ] Cometh.

This is a fun story for me to write and I don't intend to get super, super serious about everything...and, hey, as long as it stay fun for me, you guys keep getting quick chapters.

Next chapter will complete this quest and get back to grinding with some more mobs. There will probably also be a tutorial on skills, because that's a thing that needs to happen.


	9. [2.2]

The walk to the quest goal was quiet, Kirito and Silica watching attentively for more mobs as they passed through an area of the forest neither was familiar with. It was, surprisingly, even more distant from the village than the gathering areas Hugo had guided them to, something which Kirito noticed.

“...are you sure she lives out here?” The black-haired boy asked with a frown.

“Oh?” Hugo asked, blinking as he turned. “Yeah. She's...just up ahead, if I remember correctly.”

Kirito turned around another bend in the...well, it wasn't a trail, and it might have been his imagination, but there seemed to be something like a path through the wood.

Maybe.

“It's actually really dangerous to go wandering around in the forest,” Silica stated as she dutifully followed along, her eyes roving the wilderness. “Especially in an area without marked trails, because you start believing you see paths where there really aren't any. A lot of plants and trees and stuff have natural parts in the foliage that can trick you into believing you've found a trail...”

Silica blinked as she felt Kirito's surprised gaze on her. Laughing, her gaze dropped from his wide eyes and she twiddled her thumbs. “Sorry, it's just something they...um, taught us and, well, I should know about getting lost, right? Heh.”

“No, no it's okay,” Kirito grinned, “I just...you really know this stuff, I guess.”

Silica ducked her head, but smiled.

“Here we are,” Hugo pointed as they rounded a large copse of trees clumped tightly together.

Kirito and Silica paused as they joined their guide, eyes widening somewhat as they looked over the entrance to what was evidently the 'old woman's' house. The dense wall of trees that had been stretching up to the sky on their right suddenly stopped for a few feet, instead bending over a large door-like gap in the wood with an obviously well-worn path through.

The two teenage adventurers exchanged a look.

“Senpai? Is this...er, safe?” The young girl asked timidly.

Kirito frowned, looking the archway over. It wasn't a huge entrance, not fit for more than maybe a wagon or a large car, and he could see a homey-looking cabin through the dim light let in by the forest's canopy, but...

There was a definite air of creepiness to it all.

“Stay close,” Kirito whispered lowly, reaching a hand around Silica to pat her shoulder reassuringly.

“Just through here,” Hugo smiled, walking ahead of them without looking back.

Silica swallowed, but followed Kirito's lead into the green, shadowed archway. Despite the fact that it was an almost solid mass of trees and looked like some sort of elaborately carved piece of man-made architecture, it was merely a startlingly dense growth of trees, vines, and weeds that had been tended to over the course of many years.

Stepping out of the short passage, Kirito blinked into the dim, filtered light being sifted through innumerable branches and leaves. Looking around as he checked his menu, he frowned.

“This is a safe zone,” he stated quietly, still frowning in confusion.

“Really?” Silica asked, blinking as she looked the area over.

The centerpiece of the clearing within the dome of densely packed trees was a small cottage, probably only two rooms to the entire structure. Its surroundings were divided into small groves of flowering plants, vegetables, and fruits. Stone paths meandered through the small gardens, leading around the clearing and back towards the cottage.

“Hello there, Hugo, and who have you brought with you?”

The two teens' heads snapped back towards the cottage, where their guide was conversing with someone who could be described as an 'old woman,' though Kirito wouldn't have used that descriptor as his first choice.

She had steel-gray hair drawn back into a tight bun, with clothing that was very obviously care-worn, but hemmed and patched with a skilled hand and attention to detail. Her eyes, though, were the reason Kirito wouldn't chose 'old' to describe this woman.

They were silver, just a shade different than her hair, but the sharpness in them was unmistakable. They had a level of focus in them...and there was a vitality in the way she stood, even with the long walking stick at her side...

...no, he wouldn't call this woman 'old.'

“Go make some tea, Hugo, why don't you? I'll see to our guests,” the woman nodded, stepping aside to allow the villager into her home as she approached Kirito and Silica, her eyes sliding to their waists, where their blades hung. “Adventurers in truth, then.”

“Pardon?” Kirito asked, blinking at the statement.

“Nothing but old fairy tales, child,” she smiled, shaking her head dismissively, “my name is Evelyn. I would thank you for accompanying Hugo on his herb-gathering.”

“It wasn't a problem,” Kirito shook his head. “Wolves are a good challenge at our level...er, our level of experience.”

“Indeed,” Evelyn nodded, looking them over for another moment quietly. “You two seem awfully young...though it is not my business...do you plan to journey further abroad?”

“I plan to reach the hundredth floor,” Kirito affirmed with a nod, then hesitated. “Silica is-”

“I'm going too!” Silica cried out impetuously, surprising the black-haired youth. She shrank back under his sudden gaze, “I mean, if that's okay, senpai?”

Kirito worked his mouth for a moment, but was saved from responding by the NPC's laughter.

“Oh my,” she chuckled, raising a hand to shield her mouth. “Well if you are so set on things, then...” Her gaze turned considering again as she turned and began walking, beckoning the two to follow her. “My healing poultices are not the greatest medicine in this land, though they can help soothe pain and ease soreness. Hugo's wife is with child and uses them on her back, you see. In exchange for a few, he gathers herbs for me. I do not think they would be of overmuch use to adventurers such as yourself, though.”

Kirito nearly opened his mouth to argue the point, but the woman continued.

“I'm afraid I can't give you coin as a reward, but if you were so inclined, I might be able to teach you a little about the forest.” She stated, looking back at them.

Kirito frowned slightly, thinking on the offer quickly. This sounded like a [skill tutorial], something fairly common in the game. It was likely merely a [woodcraft] tutorial, which would likely save him some time, but wouldn't benefit Silica. Granted, it wouldn't have any negative effects, either, and he could explain [skill tutorials] to the comparative newb.

“Sure,” Kirito nodded. “We'd really appreciate any help you can give.”

“Very well then,” Evelyn replied, leading the way to a specific part of her garden. “Listen closely, for I have a great deal to impart upon you and little time to do so in.”

Silica stepped closer and, together, the two adventurers listened as the older woman began explaining to both her craft.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
“What you need to understand about the world outside the walls of the cities and villages of Aincrad,” Evelyn began seriously, “is that they are rife with monsters. You have already likely encountered the herds of boars and packs of wolves which roam nearby. However, these are not the only threats in Aincrad.”

Kirito bit back a sigh, wondering if this was some kind of hidden tutorial.

Silica, though, swallowed fearfully.

“Having traveled through many of lands of Aincrad myself, I know many of the dangers in the lower lands,” Evelyn explained.

“You've been on floors above this one?” Kirito couldn't help himself from asking. In the game, it was...extremely unusual to find an NPC that moved through different floors.

“Long ago, when I was young,” Evelyn nodded tolerantly, smiling a bit at the impressed tone of her student. “I am one of the few remaining who possesses the blood of the ancient one who, in the murky ages long past, threw up the great castles of the world into the sky.”

“Ancient ones?” Kirito asked intently, frowning. Again, there really hadn't been much 'fluff' for the background of Aincrad or the world which it hovered above. This though, this was...interesting.

“Quite,” Evelyn affirmed, “what many have forgotten was that there were originally no monsters in the great castles. During my grandmother's time, when I was very young, she would take me and show me the magic gates that connect the lands of Aincrad, as well as the grand stairs which allowed the common people traverse up and down the great castle.”

Silica nodded, enthralled in the woman's storytelling.

Kirito opened his mouth to ask a question, but the woman knelt slowly to a specific plant, pruning it as she continued speaking.

“That was not the only thing she taught me, though. There are hidden paths within Aincrad, ways that are closed normally, but may be opened under special conditions. Some of these paths can allow individuals to move between the higher and lower lands. Others lead to hidden places that have been lost since the earliest days of Aincrad's existence.” Evelyn explained.

“What I will teach you,” the steel-eyed woman went on, “is how to identify these paths and routes. Hopefully, it will give you an edge and allow you to survive and beat back the monsters who threaten the People of the Sky.”

Kirito and Silica, now, were spellbound, as they listened carefully.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
“Thank you again, young man,” Hugo smiled, shaking Kirito's hand enthusiastically.

“Like I said,” Kirito smiled tolerantly, “I was just passing through and happy to help.”

The villager thanked him and Silica one last time before turning back towards his house.

All was quiet for a moment as the two adventurers stood next to the inn.

“He was a nice man,” Silica noted, for lack of anything else to say. “So was his friend, Evelyn. I'm still not too sure what the skill she taught us does, but...”

“It's a utility skill,” Kirito explained, sighing as he stepped towards a simple stone bench and sat. “You know how skills work, right Silica?”

“Sorta?” The young girl asked with a embarrassed grin. “I mean, you use them and they get better, right? Then you can do more stuff with them.”

“Pretty much,” Kirito shrugged at the summation. “Utility skills are one of three types of skills. They're the category that has all of the crafting skills and perception skills and stuff like that in it. So if you want to make something, get information from your surroundings without talking to someone, or...well, you get the idea. Those are utility skills. [Woodcraft], for instance, lets you gather food, make simple shelters, and other things like that.”

“I understand,” Silica nodded. “What about the other kinds? You said there were three kinds of skills?”

“The other two are combat skills,” Kirito explained patiently, “and social skills.” Here the swordsman grinned. “What a lot of people don't know is that when a bunch of alpha testers began posting reviews of SAO in forums, a lot of groups started protesting because it didn't have enough emphasis on non-violent gameplay. There were a bunch of American advocacy groups that threatened to push for banning the game if it wasn't changed.”

Silica blinked, “really? I remember people getting upset about it, I think.”

“The game's creator initially wanted to make the game as combat-focused as possible,” Kirito smiled as he continued, “but there were a bunch of different groups worried about how this was the first nervegear game with realistic PvP. During the beta, they exhibited a bunch of new social skills like [bartering], [fast-talk], and even the gambling skills.” Here, the solo-player smirked, “I think it was Kayaba's way of getting back at a lot of the groups for putting pressure on him. He made the game a lot more...well, diverse, I guess, but a lot of the skills he added aren't...nice, really.”

Silica just nodded, not entirely sure what she could contribute as her mentor expounded on what was, evidently, a topic of some interest to him. Thankfully, Kirito's eyes flicked towards her as he registered her silence and the black swordsman flushed slightly, apparently understanding he'd gone a little off-topic.

“Anyway,” Kirito coughed, “combat skills probably have the widest array. There are the simplest ones, things that you've probably already figured out: [vertical], [horizontal], and [linear]. Those are the basic [Sword Arts], which are all combat skills, but there are also skills like [quick draw], which don't actually do damage, but can help you line up a strike better, faster, or stronger.”

“I...think I get it,” Silica stated slowly. “So...that lady in the forest taught us a skill, but I learned [woodcraft] on my own. Why'd she have to teach us that one?”

“Some skills need [skill tutorials] to unlock. You either have to have an NPC or another player teach you how to do it, you can't just learn it on your own. Of course, there are other skills that you just plain can't teach, like [battle healing]. The only way to learn that is to spend ten hours fighting mobs with your health in the red and it only works while you're standing still, but it's still a really useful skill, which is why a lot of players go to the trouble to learn it. Even if you don't, you might eventually unlock it by chance, especially if you spend a lot of time fighting.”

Kirito smiled at his 'junior' as he remembered a new topic. "Now, [battle healing] is a passive skill, which means you don't have to do anything to activate it. Skills like these will activate on their own when you need them or meet prerequisites, like having taken damage in a combat zone, and standing still while still in combat. Other skills, like...well, all of the [sword arts], for instance, are active skills. That means you have to consciously activate them for the skill to work."

"...and the more you use them, the better the skills get, right?" Silica asked, repeating her assertion from earlier.

"Right," Kirito nodded. "Eventually, you'll max out a skill, or get it to its highest level. After that, a maxed skill will usually unlock another skill. If you manage to get more than one skill of the same type...utility, combat, or social...you can combine them to unlock another skill, which is usually better than any single skill, but you'll lose access to the more advanced version of any individual skill."

"I...don't really get it," Silica grinned bashfully.

"Eh...it's like if I maxed out...uh, [quick draw], which is a combat skill that lets you draw your blade faster, but if you max it out, you'll get access to a skill called [instant draw], which gives you a free strike against an enemy that gets really close to you. Then there's [long stride] which is also a combat skill, but it improves movement in short bursts. If you max out [long stride], it'll give you [far stride] which lets you do the same thing, but more often and with faster repetition. Finally, if you max out [long stride] as well as [quick draw] and have them maxed at the same time, you can unlock [iaijutsu], which allows a player to move forward quickly while drawing their blade [I]and attacking[/I]. It also give you a bonus to damage in the initial strike, which can be multiplied if you use a [sword art]."

"Oh!" Silica nodded energetically, "I get it senpai! But, um...isn't that kind of hard, though? I mean, you'd have to know that you needed to wait for both skills to finish instead of just leveling one of them up when you got the chance."

"It is a little tricky, but you'll get the hang of it." Kirito assured her. “Though there are 'hidden skills.' These are skills that you can only unlock by doing something specific or hitting a quest at the exact right time. I think the skill Evelyn taught us might be one of those skills.”

Kirito frowned and opened his menu back up. "It's a Wisdom skill, something which Argo usually likes more than me. I think it might end up being worth putting a few points into Wisdom for, though."

[Woodlore Lvl. 1]

You have gained the skill to glimpse the hidden secrets of this natural, unnatural world, crafted by ancient hands.   
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Sorry this took so long to get out. For some reason, this chapter was just a bitch and a half.


	10. [2.3]

Kirito stretched and massaged the kinks out of his shoulders.

“What are we doing today, Kirito-senpai?” Silica asked from her stalwart post next to him.

“Well...” Kirito pondered thoughtfully, staring off into the distance as he trailed off. “I think,” he continued eventually, “I think we should probably get to the next town. There's a few quests that a friend and I are going to meet up to complete and I'm pretty sure we can cover the distance today.”

“Alright! That sounds good, but...” Silica frowned. “Why are we going to the market? Isn't the exit to the village in the opposite direction?”

“It is, but you need a better weapon and armor...as well as clothes, if we can manage it,” Kirito pointed out, gesturing to her starting gear.

The young girl blushed.

“Ah...well, at least it's clean?” She managed. “I managed to find a stream, so it's not as bad as it could have been?”

Kirito blinked owlishly, then it clicked.

“No, no, I meant...” The boy sighed. “Alright, get ready, because I'm going to explain more about how the game works, okay?”

“Oh!” Slicia's eyes widened, then she flushed, “I thought you meant-”

Kirito waved her off. “What I meant was that all of the gear you wear, even your clothing, can affect your stats and skills, not just what sword and armor you pick out. There are even accessories that give some pretty nice bonuses, although those are a bit rarer. If you're serious about running a Luck build, I'd watch out for the [Luck Rabbit's Foot] rare drop. If I remember right, it's the lowest-level drop for enhancing luck-based skills and stat-functions.”

“I...think I understand,” Silica nodded, “but...what about clothing? How can that help?”

“Well...” Kirito frowned thoughtfully. “Clothing can do a lot of things, especially if you can farm the right materials and either make them yourself or get a player or NPC with a high-level [Seamstress], [Weaver], or [Leather-worker] skill to make it for you.”

“This game's...really complicated, senpai,” Silica sighed.

“Well, it had to be, otherwise players would just finish it quickly and get bored.” Kirito grinned. “Clothing, though, can influence your Cha a lot. I had this really awesome coat in the beta...”

The black-haired swordsman sighed wistfully.

“Anyway, if you make the right type of clothing out of the right type of material,” Kirito continued, “you can get a lot of different effects. My friend Argo? She had a pair of glasses, actually, that increased the effectiveness of visual-based [search] and [spot] skills. She also had a pair of-”

Kirito cut himself off, his eyes widening.

“A pair of...what?” Silica asked curiously.

“Oh, just...um-special gear that could um...increase certain Cha skills,” Kirito explained awkwardly, trying to fight off the memories of Argo's specially-made lingerie.

He really needed to talk to Kayaba about how easy it was to bluff your way through the 'over eighteen' form preventing you from unlocking a few of the more...adult content.

...well, at least he had a few more floors until Argo managed to get the [seduction] skill.

The image of his girlfriend's swaying hips beneath silky-thin fabric rose up again.

Wait. Why was he upset about Argo getting that skill again?

“-senpai? Senpai?!”

“Huh?” Kirito blinked, turning to his junior.

“Are you okay? We're at the market already, you were about to walk right past,” Silica frowned worriedly.

“Oh, yeah, just-just fine,” Kirito laughed awkwardly, hoping that he wasn't blushing as badly as the heat on his face seemed to indicate. “Let's see, this is just a village market, so they won't have quite as much of a selection, but...” Kirito took a moment to center himself, back within his element.

“I guess we should start off with what kind of weapon you're thinking about going for, since different weapons do different things. You're using a dagger, right?” Kirito asked, stopping in front of the small blacksmith's stall and surveying the weapons and armors available.

“Uh...yeah,” Silica nodded once, pulling her starter weapon out of its sheathe at her waist.

“Okay, first off?” Kirito asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the girl. “Daggers are close-range weapons. Just about the closest-range there is. You've probably noticed that it's not exactly what you want for fighting wolves, right?”

Silica paled slightly at the reminder. “Yeah, it was...scary. But...uh, I already have my dagger skill up pretty high. Shouldn't I just stick with it?”

Kirito shrugged. “You can, if you want, but if the dagger isn't a weapon you're comfortable with, I wouldn't recommend it. It'd be a lot better to switch now than continue fighting with it. Think of it this way...you've already spent a while doing something you don't like. Do you really want to spend a lot more time to keep on doing that?”

Silica's shoulders drooped as she stared at her dagger.

“But it's not a complete waste,” Kirito decided to point out. “It's always good to have a backup weapon. If you want to keep the dagger and level it as a secondary weapon, that's something.”

Silica pursed her lips, but nodded slowly. “I...think I'd like that.”

“If you're sure. Remember, you can change your mind at any time,” Kirito pointed out. “But...let's see. I use high-strength swords. That is, swords that need, or at least are more effective, if you have a high Str stat. This means they usually do more raw damage, but they're a little harder to aim at vital points for a crit...and they have pretty crappy Luck modifiers, so even if you do hit, they won't do an incredible amount more of damage. Still, swords like these,” and here Kirito pointed towards a longsword, a bastard sword, and a broad jian...all lower quality, but functional, “will do a lot more base damage and usually do a lot better on things like knock-back effects.”

Silica blinked, again slightly amazed at the onslaught of information.

“I...think I get it,” she cocked her head. “So...if I wanted a weapon that used Luck ?”

Kirito's lips twitched downward as he reached up to rub thoughtfully at his jaw. “I...the only one I can really think of might be the darts.” The black-haired boy sighed as he pointed towards an open wooden case.

“I mostly keep those for the regulars at the inn,” the attendant snorted. “Never thought I'd see the day when an adventurer picked them up for weapons!”

“Oooh, pretty!” Silica smiled, looking over the array of pointed throwing darts.

Kirito nearly rolled his eyes, but aceeded that the darts might, indeed be, 'pretty.' They shone with the unscratched and untarnished sheen of new metal and had colorful fletching at the ends, comprised of some rather common bird feathers.

“These are...well, they're kind of like throwing daggers. My friend tried them out, but they did even less damage, and relied almost entirely on making critical hits to do any real damage. About the only thing that's really special about them is that the darts are the exact same ones used by the [Dart-Throwing] gambling skill in the casinos on upper floors.”

Silica frowned thoughtfully.

“Keep in mind, though,” Kirito cautioned, “that you'll need to replace them a lot. These are throwing weapons, which means a lot of them will get lost or damaged and-”

“How many do you have, sir?” Silica asked, looking up at the blacksmith.

Kirito sighed.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
He'd been right.

It had been a long day, as well as a tiring one.

For all that he found play-styles that revolved around limited ammunition limiting, in a game like this, at least...he had to admit that Silica seemed much, much more comfortable as a ranged fighter. The darts themselves were light enough that even at her puny strength rating they wouldn't be an encumbrance, either. The gambling side of the dart skill was an easily-unlocked way to test her aptitude, too, available as it was in nearly every inn on the first floor. It had made for a good way to get the girl used to the weapons in a non-combat situation.

Combat, though, had been a mixed bag.

If he was honest with himself, she hadn't done horribly. The...unpredictable results her strikes got merely grated against his own sensibilities. Silica, on the other hand, seemed to find the chancy nature of her weapons exciting rather than irritating. Still, he couldn't remember meeting anyone in the beta who'd built a dedicated dart-thrower, so it'd be interesting to see if the build was viable late-game, although-

“Ki-bou!”

The black-haired swordsman stiffened, but it was far too late.

“Ooff!”

“Kirito-senpai!” Silica cried.

Kirito groaned, looking upwards at the wide grin. “Hey Argo.”

“Hey Kiri-bou, whatcha' doin'?” Argo asked cutely, her hood still up and shading her face such that Kirito, momentarily, saw only the flicker-flash of teeth and was reminded of the story-book cat which had left its grin behind when it disappeared.

Granted, even that cat would have likely thought twice about trying to pounce on a rat like this one.

“You-you know this p-person, Kirito-senpai?”

Argo blinked, sitting up abruptly and turning to the younger girl, who'd squeaked out the question.

Kirito barely suppressed a groan as he saw Argo's smirk twitch for a moment, and her eyes glimmer.

“What's this, Ki-bou? I leave my boyfriend to go rush some quests and you've found yourself an adorable kohai already?” Argo asked airily, looking down on the black-haired boy from where she still rested on top of him.

Kirito frowned, looking at his girlfriend closer. Was she...upset? “I...we met while she was lost in the woods. I've been walking her through a tutorial, that's all.”

“Hmm...well, if you're sure,” Argo mused, the speculative glint in her eye fading, “and what's the adorable Kohai's name, huh?”

“A-ah, I'm Silica?” The younger girl offered with obvious hesitation, turning what should have been a statement into a question. “P-please take good care of me?”

Argo blinked, momentarily taken aback by the girl's bow and instant submission.

“M-moe,” Argo whispered, narrowing her gaze as she flicked a look back to the boy beneath her. Kirito, for all his adorable efforts to dislodge her without looking as though he was attempting to 'initiate something,' wasn't having much luck-

“Argo! Don't run off on me like that!”

All parties blinked, turning to where a girl wearing a white blouse, red skirt, light breastplate and a fencing blade at her waist had just rounded a corner. Stopping stock-still, the girl's brown eyes widened as a stain of crimson blossomed on her cheeks. “Wh-what are you doing!? G-get up this instant! You're in the middle of a street! Everyone's staring at you!”

Argo blinked, looking around to confirm that they did, indeed, have an audience, complete with a number of women giving her and her boy-toy glares as they covered their childrens' eyes. Giving an awkwardly strained chuckle, the rat grinned. “Aw, c'mon Asu-chi! Don't be a stick in the mud!”

She had to admit, Asuna's flushing face was nearly amusement enough for the yelling that came next.

Kirito, on the other hand, merely pressed a palm over his face and lay there.

He'd been right. It had been a long and tiring day.

And it wasn't over yet.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
“I swear, I can't let you out of my sight for a second,” the brown-haired girl groused over the table they'd chosen.

“Hey-hey!” Argo pouted. “We weren't doin' nothing improper, Asu-chi! I totally just tripped and Ki-bou, my knight in shining armor caught me before I could fall!”

Kirito sighed, “Argo, as much as I've gotten used to the public displays of affection, you probably do need to tone it down a bit in public until we figure out what's up with the...”

The black-haired boy made a nebulous gesture towards the world.

Argo frowned, but as she read between the lines, she conceded the point.

“So you're...'Ki-bou'?” A thin, brown eyebrow rose as honey-gold eyes looked towards the dark-haired boy.

Kirito flushed slightly, “then I should call you Asu-chi?”

Choking with embarrassment, the girl shook her head, “N-no. Just, um-Asuna, please. It's...nice to meet you.”

“Kirito, the same.”

Asuna sighed, “I suppose I should be glad for the company. A few days of traveling alone with this,” here she pointed at the faux-innocent-looking rat, “is about all I can take. How do you put up with her?”

“Kirito-senpai and Argo-san are very good friends,” Silica spoke up unexpectedly, rallying even when the older girls turned their gazes on her. “Ah, I mean...he talks about her all the time, so they must be, right?”

Argo snorted, as if the younger girl had said something funny, and threw her hood back up. Her boyfriend's lips twitched as he caught a bit of red on her face, though.

Kirito smiled and reached out for Argo's hand, clasping it in his own. “I manage.”

Asuna's jaw worked for a moment as her eyes locked on the two sets of entwined fingers. “A-ah, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you two were...that close.”

“It's not a big deal,” Kirito shrugged. “How did you two meet up anyway? No offense, but you and Argo don't exactly seem like you would...”

Asuna sighed and nodded. “I understand what you mean. Really, I hired Argo to get me out of the [City of Beginnings]. I was...getting harassed and...” Her lips twisted as she fought for the words to explain things.

“That's horrible!” Silica cried, eyes wide. “Are things really that bad?”

This time, Argo's snort was loud enough that it was obvious she found something truly amusing. Peeking out from under her hood, the girl grinned. “Eh, Asu-chi's just a bit famous, is all.”

“Argo!” Asuna bit out, scowling warningly.

“See, Asu-chi figured out tha' you can make food taste right if you use the right cooking skills,” Argo smirked.

Kirito's eyes widened.

“What do you mean?” Silica asked, blinking.

Asuna groaned and rested her head in her hands. “I just got lucky! Cooking's something I'm really good at IRL, okay? While everyone was trying to get their bearing after...whatever happened, I was looking for work at a few restaurants and I lucked into a bunch of cooking skills. It started with an all-purpose [cook] skill, but before I knew it, I had all sorts of skills like [poissonnier], [rotisseur], and [friturier]. Then everyone started figuring out that my food tasted good and-” Asuna cut herself off with an aggravated noise that rested somewhere between a growl and a moan.

“Asu-chi got so famous, a bunch a' guys even got together and started calling themselves the 'Knights of the Dinner Table,' if ya' can believe it!” Argo cackled.

Asuna dropped her head onto the table with a dull thud.

Kirito worked his jaw silently.

“So, yeahs,” Argo grinned, “what with her bein' a celebrity and all, Asu-chi here wanted ta' make a quick getaway. She managed to find me and we cut a deal.”

“Argo...” Asuna growled.

Argo snorted, leaning back and widely smirking. “See, I help her get out of town and avoid notice for however long she wants and I get some nice homecookin'. Pretty sweet, huh Ki-bou?”

“You should at least act a little ashamed of yourself!” Asuna nearly spat, her face flushed with petulant anger as she slumped in her seat. “Ugh...what did I do to deserve this?”

“I don't get it,” Silica frowned cutely, flushing slightly as all eyes turned to her again. “I mean-ah, well, all of the food I made with um...[woodcraft] tasted fine, I think. At least, after I got the skill. Before that it was-” Silica shivered and made a face of disgust.

Kirito smacked himself in the face.

He' never even thought to try cooking with the skills!  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
“...and Asu-chi's nice enough, just a bit uptight,” Argo reassured the boy as she closed the door behind her.

“If you say so,” Kirito shrugged. It wasn't exactly as though he and the other girl hadn't hit it off. Asuna had merely seemed...on edge? Maybe. She had the look of someone anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Hey Kiri-bou?”

“What's up?” The black swordsman asked, still caught up in his musings.

“Missed ya'.”

Turning, his thoughts evaporated like morning mist as he looked over his girlfriend's bare, dusky-skinned body. Argo leaned in and kissed him.

“I missed you too,” Kirito smiled as he allowed the green-haired girl to slide his jacket off.

“Don't think I haven't forgotten about you picking up strange girls, Ki-bou,” Argo warned gravely, suddenly, catching Kirito off-guard as she gave him a push onto the bed.

“A-argo! I didn't-I mean, Silica isn't-”

Argo rolled her eyes, “you're lucky I'm the type a' girl who won't get in a snit about a misunderstandin' Kiri-bou.”

Kirito sighed with relief, taking in her returned teasing grin.

“You'll just have to work yer way back inta' my good graces,” Argo grinned as she exposed his stiffening dick and slide her tongue along it slowly. “Lucky, I think I got a few ideas...”

Kirito smiled tiredly.

It had been a long, hard day.

It looked like the night would be no different.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Whew. This should have been out a while ago. Sorry about that. Real life got hectic with some water damage and mold and I'm looking for a new job and all that shit.


	11. [2.4]

“Alright, so where are we going?” Asuna asked as she sipped from a canteen.

“To tell the truth, that's why we left so early, Asu-chi,” Argo smiled languidly as she stretched out on the grass. “We need to get a plan together about what all we need to do and what we want ta' do.”

“...and my cooking had nothing to do with it,” Asuna muttered, her eyes sweeping over the smoldering firepit which had cooked their late-morning breakfast.

“Eh, maybes just a lettle,” Argo grinned.

“I thought it was a very good meal, Asuna-san,” Silica interjected somewhat timidly. “I'm sorry I couldn't be more of a help.”

Asuna frown softened as she smiled at the younger girl. “Don't worry about it Silica-chan, I enjoy cooking. I just don't like it when people take advantage of my skills without being properly grateful.”

Argo had the good grace to grin sheepishly and chuckle, though the final member of their party attracted the most attention by remaining silent on the matter.

Asuna, Silica, and Argo stared at the black-haired teen strangely.

“Ki-bou?” Argo tried, tilting her head and reaching out cautiously with a single finger to poke her boyfriend in the shoulder. “GM to Ki-bou, you there?”

Kirito's eyes, glazed over as they were, refused to focus, the blissful expression on his face never wavering as all three girls were torn between worry and amusement.

Argo grinned lasciviously, “wow, Ki-bou, that must be some dream you're havin' if you're poppin' wood this early.”

Asuna's eyes widened as her gaze involuntarily shifted down to the junction of the boy's legs, where-

“-Ack!” Kirito squawked, throwing his hands over his crotch as he flushed, only to stop abruptly, turning to scowl at his girlfriend, who was nearly wheezing with laughter. “Not cool Argo.”

“You two-ugh!” Asuna spat, turning away from her companions in disgust.

It was Silica's turn to be silent as she turned tomato-red.

“Sorries!” Argo grinned, “just teasin' a bit, Kiri-bou.”

Kirito sighed, but shook his head in resignation rather than press the point. “Just...not while we aren't...ya'know, alone, okay?”

Silica bit her lip as she mumbled something incoherent about 'that kind of relationship.'

“...and, uh-sorry,” Kirito frowned as he ducked his head towards the remaining two girls. “I just...you never know how good food is until it turns into tasteless mush, I guess. That was just, like...the best meal I've had in years.”

Asuna stiffened for a moment, but remained with her face turned away even as a pleased smile curved her frown upside down.

“Asuna-san is a very good cook,” Silica nodded, still blushing slightly, but relieved to be back onto more comfortable topics.

“She is, isn't she?” Argo grinned. “I suppose we'll just have to have Kiri-bou tie her up to keep her from ever leaving, huh?”

“Wha-what?!” Asuna squawked, her hair flying as she spun to look at the slyly grinning Argo and the equally flustered Kirito. “Wh-what do y-you mean by th-that!?”

“Sumbody-was-peekin',” Argo sing-songed back at her, showing her teeth.

“I-I did no such thing!” The older brunette stuttered out.

“Argo,” Kirito groaned lowly.

“Fufufufufu,” Argo snickered. “Just remembers, Asu-chi, ya' gotta' ask permission 'afore ya' do anythin', right?”

“Y-you harlot!” Asuna growled, her face positively aflame.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kirito sighed as he jogged up to the brunette, observing her tense posture. As he closed, his pace slowed until the two were walking side by side, one obviously irritated and the other just as obviously cautious.

“Sorry about that,” Kirito began hesitantly. “Argo...just, well, Argo.”

Asuna snorted, immediately looking aghast and pressing her hand over her mouth before her previous bad mood returned. “Ugh, that girl. I swear. I've never met someone who can seem so...so, smart and observant one moment and the next it's like she's actually some kind of twisted pervert! How do you put up with her?”

Kirito wondered whether he should take offense at the characterization of his girlfriend before deciding it was too much trouble to get irritated over every little thing. Besides, Argo had brought this mess on by being...herself.

“I mean,” Asuna deflated, her shoulders sagging, “I've only had to put up with her for less than a week and I'm already nearly at my wits' end!” Eyeing Kirito suspiciously, “how did you end up together, anyway? You and her?”

Kirito coughed and looked away, “that obvious, huh?”

Asuna rolled her eyes, “even if it weren't, I probably would have gotten a clue from how much she talked about you on our way here. Kiri-bou 'this' and Ki-bou 'that.' I just...can't imagine someone like her with...someone like you.”

Kirito blinked, broken out of the pleasant haze of imagining Argo missing him by the tone of Asuna's question. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Asuna colored slightly, “Sorry...that, came out wrong.” She made a vague motion with her hands. “I meant...you seem...'normal.'” She finally settled on, looking the boy next to her over more carefully. “I was imagining this boyfriend of hers as some kind of twisted, basement dwelling otaku and you...well, I guess you could be, in real life, but you don't seem the type.”

Once again, Kirito wondered if he should take offense. There was an implied insult somewhere in what the girl had just said and it wasn't exactly polite to pry into a person's real life, even casually, but...

Well, it was a bit of a stressful situation, all things considered.

“It's kind of a long story,” Kirito shrugged awkwardly. “But...Argo and I just, well...we kind of 'click,' you know? I guess she can be a little...much, at time, but I don't think I've ever cared too much what other people think, so...” He shrugged again.

Asuna stared at him, her eyes narrow, before nodding slowly. “I think I get it.”

Kirito blinked, she did? “You do?”

Asuna smirked at him, “of course I do. You're in love with each other.”

The black-haired swordsman tripped, almost falling as he abruptly lost his balance. “What?!”

“You okay there, Ki-bou, Asu-chi?” Argo's voice called from behind them, from where she was talking and walking with Silica.

“Fine!” Asuna cried, waving back at them with a smile. “I was just telling Kirito how much you told me about his 'ebony locks' and 'innocent boyish charm,'” Asuna grinned, showing off a few teeth.

There was a loud squeak and, when Kirito turned, Argo's hood was up as Silica twiddled her fingers nervously.

Asuna chuckled lightly, shaking her head as she started walking forward again, forcing the only boy of their group to step up his own pace or be left behind.

“What do you mean we're 'in love with each other,'” Kirito demanded in a quiet hiss.

“Just what I said,” Asuna shrugged, still smirking. When Kirito didn't appear convinced, she shook her head in disappointment. “Okay, look, the school I go to is kind of...well, all of my classmates are rich brats, if that gives you an idea.”

Kirito nodded slowly, “Okay, but what does this have to do with-”

Asuna held up a hand, “Getting to it, okay? Just...kids like those? They can be really...mean, if they get the chance. It's all about status and rank, right?”

“I guess,” Kirito shrugged. “You see a lot of that on the leader-boards for different games. Being a jerk will win you a lot of PvP matches, cheap shots and stuff like that, but not many friends.”

“I didn't know games got like that,” Asuna admitted slowly, then shook herself. “Off topic. Anyway, I've seen a lot of relationships. Most of them are the kind of status-symbol flings, where two people are dating because the girl's cute and the guy's hot, or two girl's are acting like a couple because it's 'in' to like girls that year.”

Kirito made a face, “you're making me so glad I'm home-schooled, you know?”

Asuna blinked. “Home-schooled, really?” Kirito nodded. “Huh...but, yeah, that's what a lot of relationships boil down to in my school. Then you see two people who obviously like each other, but you know it will never last because they fight over everything. There's passion, but...well, too much passion, if you know what I mean?”

Kirito shrugged, vaguely uncomfortable with this line of discussion.

“It's the little things that tell you when a relationship isn't going to work out,” Asuna went on, staring off into the distance, her face somewhat blank. “Annoying habits or things about each other that you think 'oh, I can change that,' or 'if he really loves me, he'll stop when I ask.' People...just don't change like that.”

Silence descended on the two as they continued to walk next to each other and worlds apart at the same time.

“After...well, I decided that if I ever bothered with a guy, if I ever really liked him,” Asuna stated, her tone far away from their conversation such that Kirito doubted if she was really talking to him, rather than herself. “If I ever thought I loved a guy, I'd think of the most annoying, infuriating habit I could think of...and if I could smile when I thought of him doing it, I'd know it was real.”

Asuna snorted, shaking her head abruptly.

Kirito digested the long train of thought for a few moments in silence, finally daring to ask a question. “So how does all that mean Argo and I are in love?”

Asuna smirked sidelong at the boy. “You're a gamer, right? A pretty serious one? Argo said you like to be on the...uh, leader-board?” Kirito nodded hesitantly. “Okay, I want you to imagine that you're playing in a tournament or something, and Argo comes over. She's sitting in the background, talking. She's distracting you and you're doing badly and-what's so funny?”

Kirito tried to catch the laugh that bubbled out, but couldn't help himself, “sorry, sorry. I just, well, Argo actually called me on voice chat one time about three months ago when I was doing a raid on another game. The raid group I was with was crushed when I-uh, why are you looking at me like that?”

Asuna smiled back, shaking her head. “You know, I've met a lot of people who would be really angry if their girlfriend or boyfriend did something like that to them. When I started describing things, though, you started smiling instead  
of frowning.”

“So?” Kirito asked, blinking.

“Do you consider that a memory of losing a game? Or of talking with Argo?” Asuna asked intently.

Kirito cocked his head, “I guess...talking with Argo? I mean, a bunch of people in the raid group were irritated I wasn't on top of my game like usual, but we got together a few days later and beat it. Argo and I stayed up most of the night talking about this guild she was doing contract work for in Elder Tale while we were waiting for the full version of SAO to come out.”

“If you don't understand the point I'm trying to make by now, Kirito,” Asuna rolled her eyes, “I don't think I can help you any more than that.”

“I...I guess,” Kirito frowned thoughtfully, not sure of the full implications of their discussion. Narrowing his eyes, a curious thought struck him. “Hey...what was that habit?”

“Sorry?” Asuna blinked.

“The habit you tried to imagine a boyfriend with?” Kirito clarified, then scowled at his forwardness. “Sorry, I guess it might be a bit too personal and-”

“Games,” Asuna shrugged, grinning sardonically. “It's kind of funny, actually, given that's what got me into this whole mess, but...I never really understood what people saw in computer games. So, if I thought I really liked a guy, I imagined him staring into a computer screen and just grunting when I tried to talk to him. So far, it's only made me want to hit something.”

“Sorry,” Kirito sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

Asuna shrugged lightly. “It's...not a big deal. Still, I don't think I'll ever pick up another game after all this is over.”

“That's sad, actually,” Kirito frowned, looking off towards the mountains.

“I've never seen what other people see in them,” Asuna repeated. “It all just seems like a fantasy world, wish-fulfillment, you know? But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. You log out or shut your laptop and you have to go back to the real world.”

“And what you do in the real world matters?” Kirito asked, before he could stop himself.

Asuna blinked, turning to stare at him with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”

Kirito scowled and was silent for a moment. “Sorry, it's just...you go to school, get good grades, to get into a good college, to get a good job, to...what? Die after fifty years working in a small office? Or a big office, if you're lucky? How does that matter?”

Asuna opened her mouth, closed it, then frowned thoughtfully, her brows knitting together.

“I...guess I never thought of it that way,” she confessed, though her tone implied that she felt she should have. “...and you think games are better? Just...escapism?”

“I didn't say they were better, necessarily,” Kirito shook his head, “just more fun. I mean, if I'm going to be doing something for the rest of my life, I might as well enjoy it, right? I like to think that a life spent playing games and enjoying your life is just as productive as filling out paperwork every day.”

“So...you just want to make games then, and play them?” Asuna asked, frowning at the nod she received. “But...you won't be producing anything. I mean, not anything that anyone needs, at least.”

“People don't really need music, either, but we have plenty of musicians,” Kirito replied with a shrug. “...but, it's more than that, I think. It's more than just having fun. In games, I think, people feel like they understand the world. Games are fair. Life isn't. I mean, even here,” Kirito waved at the world around them, “any monsters we meet are going to be ones that we're able to beat. If you meet a bear or something in the real world, or a guy with a gun, one mistake will kill you and you won't even get to reload the game to try again and do it right.”

Asuna cocked her head as she tried to imagine a world like the one Kirito was describing, like the one she was now...living in.

“I still don't think games and stuff are realistic enough,” Asuna smiled, shaking her head. “I mean, if this really was some wish-fulfillment world, I don't think you'd like it too much if it was real.”

“Huh?” Kirito asked, raising an eyebrow.

Asuna snorted and grinned. “After all, you're one guy traveling alone with three girls. If this were a crappy harem story, I probably would have hit you for being a perv back when Argo was teasing you.”

Kirito opened his mouth, let it hang for a moment, then shut it.

Mentally, he decided that staying silent was probably the best decision tree for this event.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kirito's eyes widened as he took in the scene.

It had been a panicked cry which had brought them all running down the road, speeding towards whoever had yelled.

It was a scene out of a fairy tale. An overturned western-style carriage, one man thrown to the ground as the horses panicked and whinnied loudly.

Around them, though, was a group of men wearing scruffy and mismatched clothing, all carrying knives, spears, and swords.

"Bandits," Argo spat. Kirito firmed his resolve as his hand dropped to his sword.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Merry Christmas!


End file.
